Roses and Peonies
by Frith
Summary: KuramaxBotan. Love was so strange and alien to Botan. Every night she'd ponder the romance novels and movies Keiko greedily devoured. Then one day, she went crashing into love head on.
1. A Walk in the Park

~*~*~*~*~ Roses and Peonies ~*~*~*~*~ 

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 1 ~*~*~*~*~ 

Botan couldn't help but smile. She couldn't help but smile every time Yusuke's arm inched around Keiko's waist and Keiko's gaze would drift to Yusuke's eyes and a pinkish tinge would emerge on their cheeks. 

Botan couldn't help but smile every time Kuwabara would go off in a passionate speech about the meaning of love and Yukina would respond with a sweet smile and a giggle.

She'd smile as she watched lovers lost in each other's eyes. They'd hold hands; their fingers laced, and walk side by side. When Botan smiled she knew that the lovers' cares had diminished. Wiped away by the caress of their companion's lips.

Botan would smile, but the smile was forced. The ends of her mouth would pull downward but Botan strained to keep them up. Straining and straining, until her jaw became sore. 

She smiled to hide from the others her deep yearning for the feeling human's called love. She'd often walk down the dark streets at night and catch glimpses of two people bathed in the light of the street lamp, locked in each other's embrace. In the shadows, where no one was around, only then did she feel it save to let silent streams of tears flow down her cheeks. For that embrace was something she'd never feel.

Botan would often wake up to her empty room and walk over to her window, which overlooked a small park. Hers eyes would rove over the dew covered grass to the meandering brick path that ran throughout the expanse of the park. A small sigh would escape her lips as she saw a different couple walk that brick path. Even in the dead of winter, when the duck pond had turned into ice and snow blanketed everything as far as the eye could see in mantle of purest white, a couple or two would come. Though their breath crystallized in front of them and all the world was frozen, Botan new they were warm and the jackets weren't the cause.

And after she'd seen all that she could take Botan would crawl back under her wool quilt and curl up in an attempt to keep warm. Head buried in her pillow and eyes scrunched up tight, her mind would wander to and fro on the boundary of unconsciousness until at least she succumbed to its pull.

~*~*~*~*~

It had been a spur of the moment decision. Something about the park beckoned Botan from her dreamless sleep. Slightly unaware of what she was doing, Botan sprain out from under her quilt and to her closet. Selecting her light blue coat and the warmest pair of pants she had, she threw them on the bed and went about finding her light blue scarf.

Botan tore of her nightgown and pulled on the clothes she'd selected in a hurry. She didn't have a clue why she was rushing but she strangely felt a sense of urgency in the air, some unknown source was drawing her to the park. Fully clothed and wide-awake she strode over to her bedroom door. As an afterthought Botan flung a pair of ice skates over her shoulder. 

With the utmost of caution, Botan crept down the hallway. Slowing the fast speed in which she'd erupted from her room to a mere tiptoe. She shared the apartment with Keiko, and Botan had learned from experience that Keiko did not like being woken up. Botan tried to keep quiet but she often lost control of her naturally loud disposition. It didn't help that Keiko was a light sleeper either. Whether she had found her hidden talent for stealth or the strange pulling force had somehow quieted her footsteps, she made it to the front door without incident. 

A few more steps and Botan was in the elevator and punched the button for the first floor. (Botan and Keiko's apartment was located on the seventh.) The park was across the street so getting there was no great obstacle. 

Botan much enjoyed the outdoors. The winter wind blowing through her blue hair, the crunch of snow under her boots, and the smell of pine wafting through the air. Her coat kept her warm but it could not prevent her cheeks, ears and nose from taking on a red hue. She loved winter; everything about it seemed...Cheery. 

She entered the park and circled the playground. Botan flashed a genuine smile as tiny children frolicked and played on the jungle gym. They seemed so happy and carefree. One of the many joys of innocence. 

Whether purposeful or not, Botan found her way to the brick path. From her window she had often longed to walk the path. To be enveloped the arms of a man and walk as though on air. The longing was not fulfilled. Botan expected it never would be. But as she walked her mind couldn't help but invent an imaginary man walking beside her. His hands wrapped around her own. Botan indulged the fantasy by cupping her hand slightly. The longer she walked, the more realistic the man seemed to be. By the time she reached the frozen pond Botan could even feel the warmth of his hand. 

She looked up hopefully, but she wasn't surprised to find no one there. Her attention turned to the pond. Skaters crowded the surface, gliding across the ice with grace. She let her skates slide from her shoulder and into her hand. She was scanning the north end of the pond for an empty bench when a familiar voice entered her thoughts.

"Botan?"

Botan turned around at the sound of her name. A friendly smile snagged the edges of her lips and pulled them upward.

"Kurama-kun!"

Kurama it was. He sported his own winter gear, a tan jacket, black sweater, and denim jeans. Botan admired his red hair, which attracted nearly every girls attention, but what Botan thought was his most astounding feature was his eyes. They were deep and thoughtful with a deep emerald color. He gazed at her with them now, a faint smile on his lips. 

"So, what brings you to the park?" Botan asked cheerfully.

"Same reason as you." Kurama answered nodding toward her skates and lifting his own into view. 

"Oh! How lovely! I was afraid I would skate alone!" Botan exclaimed relieved.

Kurama laughed, "Agreed. Skating is far more enjoyable when done with friends." And with that Kurama pointed his finger to an empty bench.

They both sat down and pulled of their boots. 

"Blue seems to be your favorite color."

The statement had caught Botan somewhat off guard. She looked at him with a questioning look, asking with her eyes how he knew that. Smiling, Kurama nodded his head toward her skates. Botan looked at them; they were a light blue, then her gaze drifted from her skates to her pants. They were also a light blue, as well as her jacket. In fact, everything she had on was blue! Right down to her hair.

"Ha! So it is!" Seeing her chance for a conversation Botan inquired, "What's your favorite color?"

"Hmm..." Kurama looked down thoughtfully then back up; "I don't really have a favorite. I suppose it's re-"

Kurama stopped mid-sentence and in a flash he was standing. Whirling around, looking for something. 

"What is it Kurama?" Botan asked concerned.

"I sense..." Kurama's eyes widened. "Botan! Get down!" 

Not waiting for her to oblige, Kurama collapsed to the ground and pulled her down with him. He draped an arm over her, shielding Botan from whatever would happen next. 

And then, the ground erupted.

~*~*~*~*~

So...What do you think? It's my first Yu Yu Hakusho fic so be nice! Please review! ^_^


	2. Rose Whip and Spirit Gun

~*~*~*~*~ Roses and Peonies ~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 2 ~*~*~*~*~

The ground shook violently. Botan could feel it, the massive amount of power surging up from the very core of the earth. The entire world quaked and shuddered with the shear force of this unknown power, Botan sensed it. With every moment it grew stronger in her mind. She soon found it impossible to think. Every time she captured a thought in her skull it was jarred loose, lost forever. 

Panic seized her. Her eyelids latched together and refused to open. The same must have been happening for the ice skaters. Exclamations of fear and surprise escaped every lip and a collective thought of 'earthquake' seemed to be on every mind. Wasting no time they hit the road, running to the shelter of their own homes. 

A tremor, more violent and louder than the others, seemed to cut through the park. A loud crunching sound soon followed. Botan whimpered and opened her eyes slowly. Her fears had been realized. The crunching had been the sound of ice splitting apart. A long gash ripped through the center of the frozen pond. Blinding white light erupted from the crack, slicing through the entire pond. 

She slid closer to Kurama, letting his warmth and protection envelop her. He seemed to understand this and wrapped his arm tighter around her. And in scarcely more than a whisper, barely heard through all the din, Kurama said, "It's going to be all right. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Botan's gaze drifted from the erupting light to Kurama's emerald eyes. His words seemed somewhat paled next to the horrible presence in her mind, but she felt somewhat relieved that he was here with her. Botan managed a weak smile before her attention was averted by yet another bone crunching sound.

The rupture had gotten bigger and the light seemed even brighter. A tight knot grew in the pit of Botan's stomach. And in one last surge of pure power the ice gave way to the intensity of the light and shattered. Ice shards flew through the air. Whistling as they zipped past. Botan through her arms up over her head, shielding her most vulnerable spot from the sharp objects. Kurama chivalrously shifted his weight so most of his body covered Botan, protecting her from the ice shards and leaving his own back unshielded. 

The rain of ice passed but not the threat. An earsplitting roar resonated throughout the park. Though every fiber in her being screamed for her not to do so, Botan's head lifted seeking the source. What ungodly creature could make such a ghastly sound?

Her answer stood before her. No, not 'stood', towered! It's head a full 40 feet above her own. It was covered from head to toe in shaggy white fur. Long lumbering arms dangled at its side, the ends were adorned with horrible, yellowing claws. The part that attracted Botan's attention was the teeth. Long and sharp, they were yellow and black from decay. And either it was Botan's imagination or some trick of the light, but she could have sworn that she saw the faintest traces of red upon those teeth. The only remnant of his last victim...

A wave of panic tore through her as she felt Kurama's warmth fade. Botan turned her head to see what had happened. Kurama slowly rose to his feet, the same indifferent expression upon his face. How could he be so calm? Botan grit her teeth and tried to put on a brave face, but she felt she was failing miserably. She latched on to Kurama's arm and pulled herself to her feet. She had a full intention to let go but she found she didn't want to. Reluctantly she dropped his arm and faced the horrible snow beast. 

The monster's mouth opened, gobs of saliva dripped down its chin. Unconsciously, Botan stepped backward, her eyes never leaving the monster's rather hungry expression. 

Kurama's frown creased and he turned to her, "Botan, get Yusuke, I can't handle this thing on my own."

Botan, for a moment, looked stunned. Going to get Yusuke would leave him to battle this thing alone. She was about to object but the look in his eyes silenced her. And with a dutiful nod, Botan summoned her oar. Mounting gracefully, she sped off in the direction of Yusuke's apartment. Kurama watched her fly away, until she became nothing more than a blue dot. 

Narrowing his eyes he turned back to the beast. His blood red eyes piercing into him. The monster, though huge, probably didn't have much speed. Taking out his rose whip and cracking it in the air in an attempt to intimidate his opponent, Kurama formulated a plan while looking for the monster's weak point.

Botan was flying as fast as that wooden oar would take her. Every second she wasted was one more second Kurama was stuck fighting that thing. _Hurry! _She pleaded, time an ever present thing in her mind. 

At last she reached her goal of Yusuke's apartment. To save time she merely flew up to his window. It was difficult, but Botan slipped her finger's through the crack between the window and the pane. And with a great feat of strength, she tore the window open. Smiling triumphantly, Botan flew through the window and hovered above Yusuke's bed. 

To her relief Yusuke had slept in his clothes last night. For the first time Botan was actually glad the boy was so lazy. Swooping in low, Botan grasped the boy's arms and dragged in him out of bed.

"Uh?" Yusuke's eyes flickered open, "What's going o-WHAT THE?" Yusuke, having finally been awakened from his half asleep state, realized that he was no longer tucked in between the mattress and the blankets but above them. He looked wildly about him, his gaze at last landing on Botan.

"BOTAN! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!?"

Botan ignored him completely. Tightening her grip she flew out of the open window all the time mumbling, "No time. Kurama's in trouble. Explain later."

Yusuke's expression changed from annoyed to worried, "What do you mean Kurama's in trouble?"

"No time!"

Yusuke frowned, the cold biting him like a viper. However, the cold was quickly forgotten as his spirit awareness kicked in. He sensed it, whatever it was. It was huge! It's power was so massive! "What the-"

Botan rounded a corner and came into view of the park. And there, standing in the snow, was perhaps the biggest, most ferocious thing he's ever seen. He clenched his teeth defiantly and prepared his best bad boy act. 

Botan loosened her grip on Yusuke's arms and let him fall into the snow. After such an event she quickly flew to the outskirts of the park to watch the happenings from a safe distance. 

Yusuke spotted Kurama with ease. His red hair was a blinding beacon among all the white. Kurama was flailing that rose whip of his around but his efforts seemed to be in vain. The creature was simply to massive to fall prey to Kurama's thorns. The beast deflected the rose whip and sent its huge fist pummeling down on Kurama. At the last moment Kurama leaped gracefully aside and the beast missed. 

Yusuke frowned. He was cold. He was extremely mad at being woken up so early and, most importantly, he wanted to go back to sleep. Striking up his usual pose (Feet apart and hand in the shape of a gun) Yusuke charged up his spirit energy and released it, yelling, "SPIRIT GUN!"

The great, glowing ball of energy erupted from his finger tip and rocketed toward the monster. Yusuke smiled with satisfaction as the monster looked seemingly helpless at the orb. But then, to Yusuke's utter amazement, with a swing of the demon's colossal arms, it deflected his energy and sent it speeding to God knows where.

Yusuke gritted his teeth. "Oh great..."

Kurama dodged another blow and back flipped to Yusuke's side, "Energy blasts won't have any effect on him. Those arms are simply to great, they'll deflect anything you'll throw at him."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Yusuke questioned slightly annoyed.

Kurama's eyes withdrew and he returned to his pensive state. His gaze flashing from Yusuke to the monster to Yusuke again then landing on Botan. 

"Botan!"

Botan snapped to attention at the sound of her name. It took her awhile to process who had called but the minute she discovered it was Kurama she flew diligently to his side. 

"Yes, Kurama?"

"Do you think you could fly me to the monster's shoulder?"

Botan's face reflected shock, "Why on earth would you want to do that?"

Kurama frowned. Botan immediately smiled apologetically and hovered low enough for Kurama to hop on. 

With one fluid motion Kurama had mounted the oar and Botan soared toward the monster. 

Flying in a wide arc to avoid being hit, Botan came up behind the demon and hovered merely ten feet from the monsters shoulder. She hoped this would be enough, she didn't exactly want to get closer to the thing. It apparently was enough because Kurama slid from his seat and landed elegantly on the snow beast shoulder. It was covered with so much fur that it didn't even notice Kurama land. 

Seeing Kurama had safely landed, Botan flew just out of arm's length of the demon. 

Yusuke, meanwhile, was rather dumbfounded as to what was going on. He really wished Kurama had at least explained his plan before going off liked that. All he could do was dodge the monster's stupid attacks. Funny, from the amount of spirit energy he had sensed he would have expected more. Yusuke narrowly missed being sliced by one of the monster's long claws. He landed safely out of harm's way and glanced up and Kurama. What was he doing?

Kurama positioned himself behind the neck of the beast. His teeth were clenched and sweat trickled down his brow. _Please work. _

"Rose whip!"

Kurama snapped the whip and with an air of uncertainty wrapped the whip of thorns around the monster's thick neck. Kurama pulled and the thorns pierced its skin. Little rivulets of blood flowed from the neck. The monster howled a deep throated roar that vibrated through the air. It dug its hands in between the whip and its neck in a vain attempt to free himself of the device.

Kurama grinned. As the monster wrapped his claws around his whip Kurama pulled. The whip bound the demon's hands to his neck. "Now, Yusuke!"

Yusuke blinked, watching the entire thing in amazement. And with a nod he once again fired his spirit gun. This time the monster was helpless to defend itself. 

"Yeah! Woohoo!" Botan cheered from the sidelines. 

The glowing orb hit the demon's stomach and sent it falling backward. Kurama, sensing it was his time to go, loosened his grip and prepared to leap from the shoulder. That was his mistake. 

The monster's arm wrenched free of the whip's thorny grasp. Drops of blood streamed from the wounds left by the thorns. The arm swung back with a great amount of force. And unfortunately, Botan was hovering in the arms path. She didn't notice until it was to late. The paw hit and Botan dropped from her oar. 

"Botan!" Kurama screamed as she fell limp.

~*~*~*~*~

ARGH! This chapter sucks! It stinks! It smells of rotten eggs! ARGH! *coughs* I'm sorry, but I have recently been suffering from writer's block, if it weren't for that I would have updated sooner. Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers! There's 18 of them!

kage1586, Millie-chan, Miyuki Mikuni, eunc, Jellybob 15, Winnie, triangle144, Reikachan14, Botan Minamino, Killing Perfection, Jaid Skywalker, The Crimson Comet, Grasshoppa , Spirit Rose, Angelike Riddle, Terrance Landon, Ice-Angel, and Silent Sage.

Thank you all! 

And a special thanks to kage1586 for being the first one to add me to her favorite authors list. ^_^

This chapter sucks, but review anyway. Please? 


	3. The Monster's Demise

~*~*~*~*~ Roses and Peonies ~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 3 ~*~*~*~*~

Yusuke watched in horror as the blue haired deity plummeted from the sky. Everything seemed to happen so fast. The monster gave one last roar, a roar that seemed to echo through the very heavens but fell deaf on Yusuke's ears, and fell backward into a snow-covered hill. The crash sent snow spraying many feet in the air. He saw a red speck on the monster's shoulder, which was assumed to be Kurama, leap just as the monster roared. Kurama attempted to catch Botan. Red speck rocketed toward blue speck but all was covered in the white spray of snow. Whether Kurama's attempt had failed or succeeded was left a mystery.

All Yusuke could do was stand there in a dumfounded trance. Awaiting for the wall of snow that impaired his vision to pass. Every second that slipped by seemed to be a hour. Waiting the verdict on his friends' fate seemed to take an eternity. 

And then at last the snowy curtain faded and all was clear. Yusuke gritted his teeth and ran toward the site where he assumed his friends had landed. All was white. The colors red and blue were no where to be found. Yusuke turned full-circle. Scanning the area hoping they were still alive. In a last attempt he called out.

"Botan! Kurama!"

Silence.

Panic seized Yusuke. _Could they be...?_ _No!_ Yusuke quickly erased the thought from his mind. They were alive. He knew they were. He tried again and waited.

"Yusuke."

A smile broke on Yusuke's face and he turned round to face the voice. And then the smile faded almost as quickly as it had come.

There stood Kurama. His eyes were tired and sullen and his air was disarrayed. In his arms he cradled Botan's body. She was badly bruised. Yusuke looked from Kurama to Botan. Kurama seemed very weak. Still tired form strangling that monster. It looked as though he was too weak to support Botan's weight.

"I'll take her." Yusuke offered, intending to relieve Kurama of his burden.

"No, she's fine. We need to get her home immediately."

Yusuke nodded and led the way to Botan and Keiko's apartment. They walked as fast as possible. Yusuke looked back often to see if Kurama was changing his mind at all about holding Botan. But each time he was meet with a look of determination and Yusuke said nothing. They reached the elevator and punched the button for floor 7. 

Yusuke cursed the dragging speed of the elevator under his breath and wished they had taken the stairs. But then Yusuke remembered Kurama's weakened condition and accepted the elevator's speed. 

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Yusuke and Kurama exited the elevator and sprinted down the hall and came to a screeching stop at the door to the apartment. It was then that they came to a horrible snag in their plan. Here was the apartment, but they had no key.

"Ring the doorbell, maybe Keiko's home."

Yusuke nodded and mumbled a silent prayer that Keiko was not out shopping. He rang the doorbell. 

Ding-dong!

Muffled sounds came from inside and at last the long awaited turning of the doorknob. The door swung open and Kurama and Yusuke were greeted with Keiko's surprised face.

"Yusuke! What are you- Oh my God! Botan!" Keiko's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes filled with compassion for her friend. She stepped to one side and let Kurama and Yusuke come in.

Kurama made tracks for the couch and set Botan's sleeping form on the cushions. Botan shuddered and then was silent. Kurama had the faint traces of the frown on his face.

"Keiko, do you perhaps have a blanket?"

Keiko nodded and left.

Kurama watched her leave before collapsing into the nearest chair. His arms felt like Jell-O. After fighting against the snow beast's strength and carrying Botan he wanted nothing more then to let his arms rest. Yusuke just stood there looking towards the hall Keiko and rushed down. 

Keiko came back holding a blanket on her arms. She ran to her friend's side and spread the blanket over her.

"What happened?" She asked worriedly.

"Some demon thing in the park attacked us." Yusuke said bluntly.

Keiko gasped, "Oh dear!"

Kurama sighed and sat up as straight as he could manage and said politely, "Keiko, would you be so kind as to make some tea?"

Keiko blinked and nodded. She was actually more than happy to make tea. She desperately wanted to have something to keep her mind of her friend. She walked the short distance to the kitchen and took out her teakettle.

Kurama sat there, his brain a buzz with thoughts. That monster... It seemed so powerful. It had enough energy to break the earth's crust, but how then, was it so easy to defeat? Could it be that it wasn't the monster's energy he sensed? Was there a greater and more powerful thing out there? But why had this thing, whatever it was, send such a weak monster? What was the purpose?

The screeching whistle of the teakettle interrupted Kurama's thoughts. A series of clangs sounded from the kitchen and Keiko appeared with a tray, upon it was three steaming cups of tea.

Kurama graciously accepted the cup offered and then let his vision drift to Botan. He'd assessed the damage done to her before and it wasn't too bad. Only a few bruises but nothing to worry about. All they could do was wait for her to wake up.

~*~*~*~*~

Well, despite the fact that nothing really happened in this chapter I think was okay. And no cliffhanger! 

YAY! Sorry to all you Hiei fans but he will appear in the next chapter! 

As I was writing this I realized something though. I could easily make this a Kurama/Botan/Yusuke love triangle. It's up to you! In your review say, Yes! I want a love triangle! or No, don't ruin this with a love triangle!

Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are great! *hugs*

And now I must finish my science project! Which is due Tuesday! -_-;


	4. Blueberry Pancakes

The votes are in and...

*drum roll*

No love triangle! (Sorry to those of you who wanted one.)

~*~*~*~*~ Roses and Peonies ~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 4 ~*~*~*~*~

Keiko didn't stop her bombardment of questions until she had unearthed every last detail of the attack in the park. Kurama and Yusuke's explanations were constantly interrupted with surprised gasps and even more questions. Yusuke was given the difficult task of explaining to her how Botan was hurt and consoling her at the same time. Keiko sprang to her feet and murmured something about them needing more tea. She rushed to the kitchen and hid behind the pantry door. They didn't need more tea; she just didn't want them to see her cry. Kurama signaled to Yusuke to avert his eyes and they both stared thoughtfully at their reflections in the teacup. When at last Keiko had cried her eyes out she returned with the teapot and politely gave Yusuke and Kurama refills. Neither commented on her red, puffy eyes. 

"There is still one thing I don't quite understand," Keiko said after seating herself in a chair opposite of the one Kurama was sitting in, "You said the monster was really powerful but it sounds like the fight didn't last long."

A still standing Yusuke nodded and looked at Kurama, "Yeah! I only used the spirit gun once and he went down like a ton of bricks!" 

"It's because that wasn't the monster's spirit energy, Baka."

Yusuke turned on Hiei, "What do you mean it wasn't the monster's spirit energy?"

Yusuke's tone suggested he was not at all happy about the demon startling him with his sudden appearance or being insulted.

Hiei gave a superior sounding cough which spoke volumes of what Hiei thought of Yusuke's intelligence, "Someone was obviously channeling their spirit energy into the beast. The monster itself was considerably weak, Kurama could have handled it on his own."

Yusuke blinked and looked back at Kurama who had suddenly found the pattern on his tea cup to be quite interesting indeed. Yusuke then turned back to Hiei and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Keiko.

"Hiei, would you like some tea?" Keiko said brightly already reaching for the tea kettle.

"Hn." 

"Here you are." She handed the cup to Hiei, she had naturally assumed he'd wanted one, though she wasn't quite sure what "Hn." meant. Hiei took the cup but didn't drink from it.

"How can you channel spirit energy?" Yusuke managed to say at last.

Hiei made another sign of what he thought of Yusuke, "To explain how you do it would be a total and utter waste of time. Let me just assure you that is what happened."

Keiko got up and refilled Kurama's cup and the turned to Hiei with worry etched on her face, "But who's doing it?"

Silence met Keiko's query.

Kurama chose this time to speak, "Whoever is doing it is extremely powerful. It would be wise to be on our guard."

"Wow! We're in quite a pickle, aren't we?"

Everyone's attention turned to Botan. She was sitting on the couch with a very smug expression on her face.

"Botan!" Kurama, Keiko, and Yusuke chorused and all three rushed to her side. Keiko was the first to greet her friend with a hug.

"Botan, you're all right! You are, aren't you? How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, Keiko! Never better!" Botan assured her.

"Are you sure? They told me what happened. What about this bruise-"

"I'm fine!" Botan persisted.

"But-"

Yusuke sighed and pulled Keiko away from Botan, "She's _fine._"

"But-"

This was hopeless.

Kurama examined the bruise on Botan's cheek and smiled warmly, "You're feeling well?"

"Yep! As good as new!" To prove her point she stood up and danced around the room.

Kurama laughed, "Good." He looked over at Yusuke who was desperately trying to ebb some of Keiko's concern. "Look, she's _fine._"

"But-"

"Kurama just said she was _fine._"

"But-"

"Keiko, why don't you make us some breakfast." Kurama suggested.

Keiko looked like a kid at Christmas, "I can do that!" She exclaimed. She'd completely forgotten her conversation with Yusuke, "I can make pancakes! I have blueberries! I can make blueberry pancakes!" She bolted toward the kitchen with a speed that would have put lightning to shame and assembled the ingredients, leaving the others with very stunned expressions on their faces.

"So," Yusuke said to Botan, "How long has she been on this cooking craze?"

Botan shrugged, "Ever since we got cable."

"What does cable have to do with it?"

Botan grinned, "She found out there was a channel entirely devoted to cooking. She watches it 24/7."

"Oh..." Yusuke was entranced by the whirlwind taking place in the kitchen.

Keiko stopped and glared at the others. She was vigorously stirring a batch of pancake batter and flour covered her face, making her look particularly frightening. "Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me and set the table?" Keiko said commandingly and as an afterthought she added, "You too, Hiei, if you don't help you won't get _any_ food! You here me? Not so much as a scrap!" And the whirlwind started again.

"Hn!"

~*~*~*~*~

Everything was frozen. The walls were covered in ice. Snow covered everything, as far as the eye could see was nothing but a pallid field of blankness. There seemed to be no end. Dark and cold was the room. Black gloom clashed with the snowy white, a dismal and sinister shadow hung over the place. No light at all was found in this place. All seemed dead, dead and very, very, cold.

A dim, faded, gleam flickered across the colorless room. It kept flickering, it was mirror. A single mirror, icicles hung off the mirrors silver frame. The strange thing about the mirror was that it's glass did not reflect the snowy world before it, but images of things beyond. In the mirror, clearly emulated was the beast The very beast that had attacked Kurama, Botan, and Yusuke mere moments before. In fact there was clearly reflected on the monsters shoulder, was Kurama choking the monster with his rose whip. He shouted something, but the mirror offered no sound. The mirror flickered and their was Yusuke light erupted from his finger and hit the beast. As it hit the monster fell back. The mirror flickered and their was Botan, eyes wide with fear as the loose arm came closer. The mirror flickered and zoomed in on her face, the look of fear captured in the mirror's glass.

A single, pale hand waved and the mirror froze. Botan stopped mid scream. The hand reached out and rested against the cold glass. It traced Botan's face, the hand ran it's fingers along the outline of Botan's chin. The owner of the hand admired her features, her magenta eyes, wide and innocent, her beautiful blue hair, the color of ice. Most of all the owner of the hand the wonderful rosy color of her skin. How spectacular it looked against his own. A breathtaking contrast to the bleak land before him. The hand withdrew and rested upon the arm of the throne before the mirror. A smile played upon the man's thin lips.

~*~*~*~*~

I updated! All right! 

Thanks for all the reviews! You guys mean the world to me! Keep reviewing!


	5. From Santa's Hat

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 5 ~*~*~*~*~

Secret Santa had been entirely Botan's idea. While flipping channels she'd happened upon a Christmas special of some show that rather caught her interest. One of the girls on the show pulled out a Santa's hat and told everyone to pull a name from it. The girl introduced the game as Secret Santa and Botan was hooked at once. It solved the problem she'd been brooding over just a view moments earlier: Her miniscule amount of cash. It had occurred to her that she wouldn't be able to buy gifts for everyone this upcoming Christmas and Secret Santa had solved her problem.

The entire gang met for lunch at a nice diner just a block from Botan and Keiko's apartment. Even Hiei was there, which was quite the surprise. Lunch had also been Botan's idea; she'd called everyone up and told him or her to come. (Hiei had been especially difficult to contact, considering he slept in random trees. She eventually asked Kurama to tell him.) Before meeting everyone at the diner she'd taken an old Santa's hat she had stuffed in the back of her closet and filled with little bits of paper with everyone's name written on them. Then she raced to the diner so she wouldn't be late for her own meeting.

When she'd arrived at the diner Botan discovered everyone was already there. The waitress had seated them in a cozy (and very large) booth. They all looked quite confused at why they were called there and even more confused that Botan wasn't there. Everyone rearranged himself or herself to make room for Botan and she scooted in next to Kurama. 

"May I ask why we have been called here?" Hiei had asked venomously. He was squished in between Kuwabara and Yusuke (Neither of which he liked very much) and was not at all happy about being there.

Botan countered his venom with sugar, "Yes, you may. The reason we all are here is simple: I have solved our financial problems!"

Her statement resulted in quizzical looks from everyone. Botan grinned, she was very fond of being in the spotlight and now that she had everyone's undivided attention she continued on in a speech-like fashion, "I'm sure all of you wondering how on Earth you were going to buy Christmas gifts for everyone."

"No." Hiei said bitterly, but Botan didn't hear him.

"Well, I have your answer!" She pulled out the Santa's hat from behind her back in a grand manner. She held it up for everyone to see. (Or, in her mind, admire.) Botan positively glowed. 

"It's a Santa's hat." Kuwabara said flatly.

Botan frowned. She hadn't exactly been expecting that reaction. She'd more or less been expecting shouts of "Botan; you're a genius!" and "You've solved my problems!" Then she realized that she probably ought to have explained it first. Her grin appeared again and continued as though she was on an infomercial.

"It's not just a Santa's hat!" She reached into the hat and pulled out a little slip of paper that had the name Shizuru written on it. "Inside I have put little slips of paper with each of our names written on it."

"So?" Yusuke asked raising an eyebrow but Keiko masked his sarcastic remark by exclaiming, "Oh! I see! Is this like Secret Santa?"

Botan nodded enthusiastically, "It's exactly like Secret Santa! In fact, it is Secret Santa!"

Keiko clapped, "Oh! That's brilliant, Botan!"

Botan beamed; here was the praise she'd been expecting.

"What's Secret Santa?" Shizuru asked.

"Glad you asked! You see each of us will draw a name from this hat, but don't tell anyone who you got, and that's the person you'll buy a gift for!" Botan paused, letting her brilliance soak in, "Don't you see? You only have to buy a gift for one person!"

Kurama nodded, "That is a good idea!"

"Thanks." Botan smiled.

Yukina piped up, "Why don't we tell anyone?"

Botan paused for a moment. She hadn't really expected this question. "Well...I guess it's just to make it interesting..."

"And it'll keep people from buying an overly expensive gift and then bragging about it." Shizuru added looking at Kuwabara.

"Hey! I have never done that!" Kuwabara exclaimed, offended.

Yukina giggled, "Kazuma! Remember my birthday party?"

Kuwabara blushed and looked down, "Oh, yeah." Kuwabara had bought a rather expensive bracelet for Yukina and had yakked everyone's ear off about it.

Botan nodded, "Exactly! So, everyone, grab a name out of the hat." Botan passed the hat around and everyone followed her instructions, "Everyone got one? Good! Okay, remember; don't tell anyone whom you got. Now! Let's eat!"

~*~*~*~*~

After lunch the group went their separate ways, either to home or the mall. Kurama mingled in the parking lot awhile. Leaning against his car, he pulled the slip of paper out of his pocket and looked at the name.

__

Botan 

So, he had to buy a gift for Botan. Kurama wistfully ran a hand through his hair. But what would she want? He knew nothing about the girl, except that she was extremely nice, hyperactive, and attractively perky. As far as what she would want for Christmas, however, was a complete mystery to him. 

Strangely enough, Kurama found that he wanted this gift to be absolutely _perfect._ He wanted her to open his gift and glow with pure joy as she saw his gift. He didn't care that she wouldn't know who had given it to her, he just wanted to see that expression, he wanted to see her radiance. 

He couldn't call her and ask her what she wanted; it'd spoil the point of Secret Santa.

He supposed he could do some detective work and find out what she liked.

But Christmas was only a few days away and he didn't have enough time for that.

He sighed and slipped the paper back into his pocket and opened his car door. He slid into the driver's seat and put the key in the starter and with a noisy jolt the engine turned over and started. Kurama shifted the car into reverse and back out of his parking place then shifted the car into drive. He turned the wheel and took off. He was just driving, no where in particular, just driving. Driving and thinking about what he could possibly buy for Botan. His mind was still a blank.

Kurama stopped at a red light. To pass the time he looked at the side of the road. Some flowers were growing there. They weren't particularly astounding flowers, just you're everyday dandelion. They were growing in a little cluster on the side of the road. Kurama liked flowers. He had, as some would say, a green thumb. In fact, had it not been winter, the entire backyard of his house would have been filled with blooming flowers. His love for flowers and his green thumb had been what been compelled him to pursue a career in Botany. He was very good at it to, which was exactly why he was the only member of the gang to own a house.

Though, he didn't really think dandelions were a flower. He didn't like them; they were too much like a weed. He was, however, very passionate about roses, as he demonstrated many times. That wasn't the only flower he favored. He liked many others such as lilies, cherry blossoms, hibiscuses, irises, peonies....

Peonies.

Kurama had to leave his thought unfinished as the light had turned green. 

Peony, didn't Botan mean peony? It did! It was a perfect! He wasn't going to give Botan a flower but it was something to build off of. But what could he give Botan that was peony themed? There had to be something he was sure.

What did people give that involved flowers? He'd seen a lot of fabric with flower patterns. Would he give Botan a dress?

No.

He'd often seen flowers on furniture.

He refused to give Botan furniture for Christmas. 

There was flower jewelry.

Jewelry?

Jewelry!

It was absolutely perfect! He'd give Botan a necklace or a ring perhaps! It was brilliant! Botan would love it. He turned the car down a street and sent off searching for the nearest jewelry store.

~*~*~*~*~

Okay, this is short. But I can't decide. Should he get her a necklace or a ring? I'm leaning toward the necklace but a ring would be nice too. I just don't know.

Botan Minamino- I'm sorry there isn't any romantic stuff in here yet! But you realize that they really haven't fallen in love yet. Though, as Kurama demonstrated in this chapter, they're starting to. Or at least Kurama is. I'm one of those people who like to save they part when they actually confess their love till the very end. I don't know why, I just do. But don't worry, the Christmas chapters coming up. And with Christmas comes Mistletoe! *Laughs evilly*

It seems we'll be breaking off from the main plot for now, but we'll get to it real soon.


	6. Under the Mistletoe

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 6 ~*~*~*~*~

__

Ding-dong! 

Kurama woke up to the sound of the doorbell. He yawned and looked briefly at the digital clock at his bedside. The red numbers blared 6 a.m. Kurama sighed and closed his eyes once again. It was too early for company.

__

Ding-dong!

Kurama groaned and rolled over determined to ignore it.

__

Ding-dong! 

Kurama defiantly smashed a pillow to his ears and closed his eyes tightly.

__

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

Kurama at last gave in and sat up wearily. With a very reluctant groan, Kurama rolled out of bed and trudged down the hallway to the front door. The doorbell was still blaring incessantly. Putting on his most perturbed face, Kurama unlocked the door and swung it open. He was greeted with the smiling faces of Botan and Keiko. 

"Hi, Kurama-Oh!" Botan's cheeks suddenly became a fierce shade of red and her eyes grew to the size of saucers. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Kurama's eyebrow's furrowed bemusedly at looked over at Keiko who was in a similar state. Both of them were looking down. Kurama followed their gaze and saw immediately what was the cause of all this. Blushing an even brighter shade of red. He squeaked a quick "Excuse me." And walked as swiftly back to his room. Leaving a very shocked Botan and Keiko in the doorway.

After a long silence Keiko coughed. Botan answered with another cough. "Well..."

"That was..." Keiko coughed.

Botan nodded, "Roses."

Keiko blinked, "What?"

"His boxers had roses on them." Botan said with unease.

Keiko nodded, and then looked at her, "Really? All I saw were red dots..."

Botan shrugged, "I was closer than you were."

"Oh."

A clicking signaled that Kurama had finished dressing and he walked back out to greet them. He smiled apologetically, "Sorry about that. I wasn't prepared for company this early in the morning." He gave a swift bow, "Do come in."

Botan and Keiko both grinned and stepped in, Keiko shutting the door behind her.

"So, what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Kurama said pleasantly.

"Simple, Kurama-kun!" Botan said exuberantly, unloading a large bag on to the floor.

"As you know today is Christmas Eve," Keiko said, unloading a similar bag.

"And you are the only one of us who owns a house;" Botan continued slinging an arm around Kurama's shoulders.

"So..." Keiko reached into the bag she'd been carrying.

"We decided to have the party at your house!" They said simultaneously, Keiko pulling out a banner that had the words "Merry Christmas" on it in red and green.

If Kurama had had anything to choke on, he would have, "WHAT?" Kurama staggered. 

"Please, Kurama!" Keiko and Botan pleaded.

"But-"

"Please, Kurama!" Both of them had gotten onto their knees and were looking up at him imploringly.

Kurama gave a resigned sigh, "Oh, all right..."

They sprang to their feet and threw their arms around him, "Thank you so much! You're the best!" They squealed excitedly and released him. Kurama nodded still a little reluctant about the entire thing, "Don't think anything of it. I'll just make some tea while you decorate." Kurama turned to the kitchen.

"Okay! But first...." Keiko said and Kurama turned around, "Where's the tree? I need to put this angel on top of it." She said pulling out an angel tree-topper from her bag.

Kurama shrugged, "There isn't one."

Keiko started to hyperventilate. Botan grabbed a paper bag and made Keiko breathe into it. After she'd calmed down a bit, Keiko ripped the bag from her face and yelled at Kurama, "What do you mean you don't have a Christmas tree? You always buy a tree at Christmas!" 

Kurama stepped back, "They're didn't seem to be a point-"

"No point?" Keiko screeched.

Botan grabbed Keiko, "Calm down! We'll go get one!" Botan said trying to abate her friend's anger.

Keiko nodded, "Okay, but go with him! Who knows what he'll pick out..."

Botan patted her friend on the back, "Okay; we'll be back soon." 

Kurama was too bewildered to do anything, forcing Botan to find the keys to his car and drag him out of the door.

When it shut, Keiko's frown dissipated into a triumphant smile, "Ha! They fell for it! Keiko, old girl, you are quite the actress. And I thought getting them alone would be hard."

~*~*~*~*~

Kurama and Botan got into his car. Kurama slid the key into the ignition and backed out of his driveway.

"So, where's the nearest tree lot?" Kurama asked. There was two reasons he asked this: The first was that he truthfully had no idea where the tree lot was and the second was he wanted to break the silence.

"It's only a block away. Take a right, here." Botan directed.

Kurama did as directed.

"Sorry, about Keiko exploding like that. She's become somewhat of a perfectionist." 

"Really? I hadn't noticed...."Kurama said sarcastically.

Botan laughed, "You should have seen her yesterday! She was screaming at me because I put too much red food coloring in the Christmas cookies!"

It was Kurama's turn to laugh.

"I said four! I didn't say twelve! I just said four!" Botan imitated Keiko.

Kurama laughed even harder.

"She won't let me near the food coloring anymore!"

Kurama was near hysterics, "Is this it?" He managed to stop laughing enough to say.

Botan nodded, "Yup, this is the place."

Kurama pulled into the parking lot and they both got out. They entered the tree lot and started looking around.

"How about you go down this aisle and I'll go down this one and if either one of us finds something we'll holler, okay?" Botan suggested.

Kurama nodded and went down his assigned aisle of Douglas Firs.

Botan smiled and went of in search of the perfect tree. She probably should have been paying more attention to where she was walking than to the trees for she accidentally walked right into someone.

"Umpf!" Botan said as she smashed into a man looking at the trees. He made a similar noise. Botan was knocked to the ground as well as the man.

Botan shook her head, "Are you all right?" She asked looking at the man she'd bumped into.

The man rubbed his neck and nodded, "I think so...You?"

Botan nodded.

He got up and offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her up.

"Sorry about that!" Botan apologized.

"Hey, no problem!" The man waved a hand vaguely; "I wasn't paying attention either."

Botan grinned. She looked at the man. He was surprisingly pale. He looked as though he'd never see the sun. Even his hair was white! Botan tried to hide that she found his looks odd by saying a quick goodbye and turning to leave.

"Wait!" She heard him say.

She turned around.

"There's a very nice tree over there." He pointed.

Botan grinned, "Thanks." And went to look at the tree he was pointing to.

It was truly beautiful. She would never have found a better tree in her life. It was perfect in shape, not a single brown needle in sight, and the perfect size!

Botan grinned excitedly and clapped her hands together with glee, "Kurama! Over here!"

~*~*~*~*~

The tree was bought and paid for and was strapped securely to the car roof. When they arrived back at the house, they discovered that Keiko been quite busy. The entire house was festooned with Christmas decorations. Banners hung everywhere. Little Santa and reindeer figurines were placed in just about every open space. The coffee table was covered in snack trays. The counter had plastic plates and utensils piled and ready for anyone to use. The Christmas turkey was already in the oven. 

Keiko immediately ordered them to put the tree in one corner of the living room. Botan and Kurama lugged the tree to its respective place and collapsed on the couch, only to be ordered up again and forced to decorate the tree. Both, however, were relieved of the job after they broke a few bulbs. 

They were then told to call up everyone and tell him or her what time the party was. Botan handled most of the calls except when it came to Hiei. She then graciously handed the phone over to Kurama, who to her surprise, simply dialed the pay phones at the park. What Botan heard of the conversation went something like this:

"Hello?"

There was a slight pause and Kurama answered, "There should be a short man behind you wearing black. Please give the phone to him."

Another pause.

"Hello, Hiei."

Pause.

"Botan and Keiko are having a Christmas party over at my house and they wanted you to come."

Kurama waited for Hiei's response.

"Yes, and please don't call her that."

By the disapproving look Kurama was giving the phone, Botan could only guess that Hiei had called either Keiko or herself something nasty.

"You're supposed to be here around 6."

Slight pause.

"Goodbye."

Kurama hung up and smiled at Botan pleasantly, "Hiei said he'd be here."

After that they helped Keiko however they could. Keiko gave them several tasks with explicit instructions that she insisted were followed to the letter. After all was done all three of them sat on the couch and admired their work. Kurama was amazed at just how unrecognizable his house was. Everything was Christmas themed, including the bathroom. All the red and green was making him dizzy. 

At last everyone showed up, all bearing little packages for the Secret Santa. The packages were set in a little pile under the tree. When everyone had arrived they all sat in a little circle around the tree. And everyone waited patiently to receive his or her gifts. Kurama seated himself on the couch with Botan on his right and a disgruntled Hiei on his left. Keiko sat on the floor and pulled the first gift from the pile and read the name.

"This one is to Kuwabara."

Kuwabara grinned and snatched the gift away from Keiko. He ripped the paper off in frenzy and wrenched the lid off.

"What is it?" Inquired Yukina.

Kuwabara's smiled and pulled a furry cat figurine, "It's so cute!" He exclaimed and actually hugged the cat figurine; "It looks exactly like my kitty!" He then proceeded to pet the figurine.

Kurama heard Hiei mutter, "Baka," under his breath.

Keiko smiled though she looked slightly put off by Kuwabara's behavior. (He was now stroking the cat and purring.) She cleared her throat and pulled out a rather large gift from under the tree.

"Yusuke."

"All right!" Yusuke kneeled down in front of the box, "What's in it?" Yusuke asked shaking the gift.

"You have to open it first!" Keiko chided.

Yusuke scoffed and opened the box and revealed a punching bag.

"Oh, cool!" Yusuke lifted the bag from its box and looked at it admiringly. 

Keiko smiled approvingly and pulled out the next box, "Oh! This one is for me!"

She tore off the paper and glanced and her gift.

"Cookie cutters!" Keiko gasped and pulled out Christmas tree and gingerbread man shaped cookie cutters.

Botan leaned over and whispered in Kurama's ear, "It was the only thing I could think of." Kurama chuckled.

Keiko pulled out more presents and gave them to whose name was written on it. Kurama received a lovely flowerpot, Shizuru was given a lighter, and Yukina enjoyed her new set of hair ties. Whether Hiei appreciated his new pair of black boots he didn't say. He did have the courtesy to try them on though. How whoever gave him the boots knew his shoe size is a mystery. And then came the moment that Kurama had been both dreading and awaiting.

Kurama pulled out the last package (Which was rather small.) and didn't bother reading the name but simply handed it over to Botan. Kurama held his breath as she slid the box out of its wrapping paper. It became obvious to everyone as they saw the box that the gift was jewelry. They craned their necks to see what the box held. Botan lifted the lid and gasped. Inside the box was a necklace. It was the most beautiful necklace she'd ever seen.

She gripped the delicate gold chain with her thumb and index finger and held it up for everyone to see. From the chain hung a charm in the shape of peony. Botan let the peony rest in the palm of her hand and leaned forward for a closer look. The exquisiteness of the peony was breath taking, with petals of gold and silver. Botan was in awe.

"It's...." Botan could not find a word to describe the absolute magnificence of the necklace, "...beautiful."

It was all she could think of. Though the word hardly did it justice. She found the clasp and undid it and fastened it around her neck. She fingered the peony charm lovingly.

"Wow." Keiko said at last and stood up to get a better look at it, "That's fantastic, Botan!"

Botan nodded speechlessly.

"Well, it's time for dinner!" Keiko exclaimed and waved everyone to the dining room. 

Kurama could hardly keep from smiling. She'd liked it! He knew she did. All through dinner her hand often went to her necklace, her fingers tracing the petals of the charm. Resisting the urge to tell her it was he who had given her the necklace was unbearable. Every time her hand went to it, he wanted to tell her. Every time this urge came he stuffed even more food into his mouth. 

Dinner was over and everyone mingled. Shizuru plopped down on the couch and entertained herself with the many Christmas specials. Kuwabara was showing off his cat. (Which he had named after Yukina.) Yukina (The person not the cat.) was probably the only one paying attention to him. Hiei had put on his new boots and was enjoying himself in on of the rooms many corners. He looked upon the room with a scrutinizing gaze and kept mumbling things to himself that sounded an awful lot like "Baka." Yusuke had been trying to convince Keiko for the past 20 minutes to let him go home and try out his new punching bag. Keiko was standing firm in her decision that he would stay until the end of the party. Kurama spotted Botan standing off to the side admiring her necklace. 

"Enjoying yourself, Botan?" Kurama said so suddenly that Botan jumped.

"Yup!" Botan said with a sense of smugness, "I love Christmas. It's always been my favorite holiday."

"Mine as well." Kurama grinned; "Your present is lovely." 

Botan nodded vigorously, "Oh! Yes, I just wish I knew who had given it to me so I could thank them!"

Kurama wished very much that he had something to stuff in his mouth right now. Luckily, Botan continued.

"But that would ruin the entire point of Secret Santa, now wouldn't it?"

"Indeed it would." Kurama agreed.

Keiko had given up her argument with Yusuke and wondered over to them, "Hey, you two."

"Hello, Keiko!" Botan responded. Kurama merely nodded pleasantly.

Keiko smiled mischievously, "Look up!"

Kurama and Botan did so. Hanging from the roof was a small plant with white berries.

"Mistletoe," Kurama remarked.

"Uh-uh! You two have to kiss now!" Keiko smirked.

A sudden knot tied itself in Botan's stomach. She looked at Kurama. He was smiling cheerfully. Before she knew it, he was leaning towards her. She inhaled but forgot to exhale. Why was she so nervous? Her cheeks were burning and the knot in her stomach was becoming tighter. 

Her eyes slammed shut. 

Something brushed her cheek.

"Hey! You were supposed to kiss her on the lips!" Botan heard Keiko protest.

"You didn't specify." Kurama said whimsically.

Botan opened her eyes. He'd already kissed her? 

Keiko scoffed indignantly and stalked off. Kurama watched her leave, flashed a smile at Botan, and went to speak with Hiei. And there stood a very confused Botan.

Her hand cupped the cheek Kurama had just kissed. It was still warm. The knowledge of how to exhale came to her. But the knot still remained. A new and unfamiliar feeling was invading her mind. Her eyes kept wandering to Kurama. And every time she looked at him, she blushed. Why?

At last she couldn't stand it anymore. She walked out of the party without a word to anyone, got in her car, and drove back to her apartment. Keiko would just have to find an alternative way home.

As she got ready for bed, images of the party kept flashing in her mind. But the most dominant memory was with Kurama. She seeing him lean forward. She kept feeling the warmth of his lips on her cheek. 

She defiantly pushed this memory aside. She did everything to muffle it. She even turned on the radio to drown it out. She switched the radio on and played with dial until a decent station presented itself. The DJ's voice came booming through the speakers.

"That was something wasn't it? I tell you whenever I hear that song I get all choked up. Reminds me of when I was a little kid growing up in Tokyo. Oh, what memories! This next song is for all you lovers out there."

Music pored out through the speakers. A man started singing:

"I'm sleeping 

Right in the middle of a good dream

And all at once I wake up

From something that keeps knocking at my brain 

Before I go insane 

I hold my pillow to my head

And spring up in my bed

Screaming out the words I dread

I think I love you!"

Botan roared and switched it off. She fell unto the bed and buried her face in the pillows. She was furious with the song. It just had said what she had been refusing to admit to herself ever since the party.

She loved Kurama.

~*~*~*~*~

Merry Christmas! Your Christmas gift is an extra long chapter! And now to answer the questions asked of me!

Bura-chan: I would love to make Kurama jealous! i think I just figured out how too! How? I'm not telling you!

Kage1586- YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF A PEONY? It's the coolest flower ever. Though, I understand why you haven't heard of it. I, myself, never heard of it until I looked it up on Google. It's now my favorite flower!

And much thanks go out to mstheatre for coming up with the design of the necklace!

One more thing. HAVE YOU SEEN PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN? It's the coolest movie ever!!!! It rocks! If you haven't seen it. I suggest you do. NOW! It's so amazingly awesome! It's the best movie I've seen since The Two Towers! (Coincidentally both movies have Orlando Bloom in it. ^_^)

Also, the song at the end is I Think I Love You by David Cassidy. I love that song. Almost as much as much as Pirates of the Caribbean. Not really, Pirates of the Caribbean was way cooler but... I love that song just the same.

-Mogget, GO SEE IT NOW!

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	7. It's a Date

Ahem, before I begin this chapter I have something very important to say:

WOOOHOOO!!!!!! 101 REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE OVER 100 REVIEWS!!!!! NOT 98! NOT 99! NOT EVEN 100! 101!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE SAME EXACT NUMBER AS THERE ARE DALMATIANS!!!! GLORY HALLELUJAH!!!!

With that out of the way onward to chapter 7!

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 7 ~*~*~*~*~

Botan woke up the next day in a slightly better mood. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. And if Botan strained her ear enough she could catch snippets of Christmas carols being sung down in the park. 

It was Christmas! Nothing- absolutely nothing- could possibly ruin her day. 

Just to prove to herself exactly how joyous she was feeling this morning, Botan skipped merrily to the kitchen to fix herself a good Christmas breakfast.

She pulled open the refrigerator and took out the gallon of milk and then waltzed over to the pantry and found herself a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. All the while singing the only Christmas carol Botan had committed to memory. 

"Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle all the way! Oh! What fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh!" 

As she brought the cereal to the counter Botan pirouetted with glee and mixed the cereal and milk into the bowl. Then a thought struck her. Keiko wasn't home. She'd gone to spend Christmas over at her parent's. So Botan added a cup of sugar into the mix.

Normally, Keiko would have insisted Botan would eat breakfast at the table. But Keiko wasn't home was she? 

She ate her breakfast on the coffee table. Settling on herself on the couch, it became Botan's primary mission to find the remote. She located it with ease and turned the TV on. 

She gave a little exclamation of delight as a little claymation Rudolph waddled into view.

That was how her Christmas morning was spent. On the couch eating pure sugar and watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

The cereal had disappeared from the bowl and had found its home in Botan's stomach. With a satisfied grunt Botan reclined on the couch and did something that would have had Keiko absolutely livid.

She put her feet up on the coffee table.

Eventually Rudolph ended and Frosty the Snowman began. Botan was still an obstinate lump on the couch.

Her neck was itching and Botan was resisting the urge to scratch it. But the itch was becoming unbearable.

__

Don't scratch. Don't scratch. Don't scratch.

She stared fixedly at the TV. Trying to ignore it.

__

Don't scratch. Don't scratch. Don't scratch.

Botan sighed and moved her arm to scratch it. Her fingers met something cold. Botan raised a bemused eyebrow and took hold of this cold thing. It was a chain. It then occurred to her what it was. With a gasp of revelation, Botan glanced down and saw the Peony charm still laced around her neck.

Funny, she'd forgotten all about it.

The phone rang and disrupted Botan from her thoughts.

She got up with a disgruntled expression and slumped over to the phone. She was determined to show who ever had called that she was extremely disappointed in being interrupted from her day of ultimate relaxation. So in a very drawling voice answered, "Hello?" And at the end of the word she added a bit of venom, just for spice.

"Botan?"

Botan choked. Her tongue turned to wood. Her venom had been given to none other than Kurama. She was forced to put the phone at a distance to regain her composure. Her stomach went all in knots again and her face felt as though it were on fire. At length, Botan had regained herself enough to speak and brought the phone back.

"Hi, Kurama!"

Should she have added "kun" to the end of it? What if he suspected something? How should she act? What was she to say? 

"Merry Christmas!" Kurama's voice chirped.

How should she reply? Should she just say "Merry Christmas!" back or was he expecting more? What would she say normally?

"Merry Christmas to you too!"

__

Pathetic, Botan! Absolutely pathetic! Can't you think of anything better to say?

"I was wondering when you and Keiko were going to take these decorations down."

"Erm...I don't know. How does tomorrow sound?" She felt as though she were squeaking. It was all too pathetic.

"That would do."

There was an unsettling silence. He expected her to reply didn't he? She bit her lip and ventured to do something that she, at the time, thought was extremely bold.

"So what are you doing for Christmas?" She piped. She didn't want this conversation to end. And yet, at the same time she did. A very confusing emotion Love.

"I'm spending it with my mother. You?"

Botan tried her best to sound like herself, "Nothing much. Just hanging around the apartment." 

"Why don't you go spend it with Keiko? I'd hate to see you alone on Christmas."

Botan shrugged, "No, I'd hate to intrude. Keiko rarely gets to see her parents."

"What about me then? My mother and I could use the extra company." 

Every fiber in her being was screaming "Yes!" But amazingly her mouth said "No."

"No, I wouldn't want to disrupt your family togetherness or anything."

"Oh! But I insist."

Once again her mouth disagreed with the fibers of her being, "It's okay. I'm quite happy now."

Kurama didn't say anything for awhile. He seemed to be thinking.

"Well, how about afterwards? I could take you for a Christmas dinner or something."

Botan's mouth was once again ready to refuse but Kurama continued.

"I absolutely insist! I won't take no for an answer."

This gave time for Botan to seize control of her mouth, "I'd love to! What time?"

"Around 5?"

"Okay!"

"It's a date!"

__

Click!

A smile broke out over Botan's face.

__

It's a date.

~*~*~*~*~

I originally wanted to make this chapter MUCH longer but I have to get up early tomorrow. But I will update with the next chapter shortly. After I get back from my trip that is.

I feel the need to reiterate: I HAVE OVER ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS!!!!

And to my reviewers, THANK YOU!

And just as a little note Kurama won't have his big jealousy moment for a few chapters yet. But it gives you something to look forward to doesn't it? And as for the gifts exchanged during Secret Santa that will remain a mystery. We may never find out who knows Hiei's shoe size.

One more thing...I was bored a couple of nights ago so I read through my story. I encountered those mistakes everyone keeps talking about,. They weren't as bad as expected but one just cracked me up. "He slid into the driver's seat and put the key into the starter and with a noisy jolt the engine turned over and the car turned over." from Chapter 5. That must have confused quite a lot of you. Just so you know, the line was supposed to read, "and the car started."

Till next time! Later days!

-Mogget


	8. Sugar High

Thanks for all those spectacular reviews! Imagine my glorious joy when I got home and checked my inbox! And sense I'm feeling particularly chipper today I'm going to reply to each and every review individually!

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Unga the Mighty Pigeon Hunter: Hey, I like your name! And yes Kurama's jealousy will occur in this chapter! YAY! Thanks for the review! 

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Steph: Aw, yes. The mysterious guy. Well, you'll just have to wait and find out! ^_~ He does appear in this chapter a bit, but his major role comes a little later from now...Probably in Chapter 10...

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Arcia: I'm sorry about the chapter being so short... But it was 1 a.m. by the time I finished you see and I was tired. Yes, the flesh is weak. *sighs*

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Momo-ness88: Yeah I think it is a word...Oh! And I love your story too, by the way! I was waiting for someone to do a decent job at that pairing! And you pulled it off perfectly!

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Jellybob 15: Thank you! That's so sweet! ^_^

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Yume Mage: Are you kidding? I love long reviews! Keep them up! And most agreed, Orlando Bloom rocks! And so does his hat. Calcium Kid and Troy? I've never heard of them but they sound interesting. Orli would make a good Paris.

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1slylittleangel: I did have fun! Thanks for the review!

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Reikachan14: Thanks! You'll find out what's going to happen soon!

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Jaid Skywalker: Wow! You haven't reviewed in a long time! But, I don't mind, just as long as you keep reviewing!

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jillian: So do I. Thanks for the review!

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Eunjung: I am!

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Gen Masho Rajura: Thank you! I wrote that thing while listening to Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Christmas carols (Helped put me in the mood) It had to be kawaii! 

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Fire Phoenix: Thank you! And I am continuing!

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eunc: I see Hiei finally let you out of that chair, or did you finally find his katana? ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!

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SLCpunk: How would I spice it up? Any ideas you might have would be helpful!

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Kagomechick: Thank you! 

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dixystxx: I won't! Thanks for reviewing!

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bluesky: Glad you enjoyed it!

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emumoon: English was always my favorite class too. Though my English Teacher was PURE evil. Your review was very helpful! Thanks!

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Lavender Gaia: I agree, Kurama/ Botan is definitely better. In fact, one of the reasons I wrote this story was I thought if I saw one more Hiei/Kurama I would have screamed. That's the song your boyfriend used to tell you he loved you? Oh my gosh! That's so sweet! It's a lot better then how I heard the song. They used it for a car commercial. Needless to say I fell in love with the song. Thanks for reviewing!

Now, on to the chapter!

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 8 ~*~*~*~*~

As you can imagine Botan was a nervous wreck. She tried to return to her previous position on the couch but her nerves had gone haywire and simply wouldn't allow her to do that. She then took up pacing back and forth across the living room. Though it was somewhat calming, she kept looking at the clock. After a moments study of the position of the hands, (_Why can't Keiko just buy a digital clock? _she thought bitterly.) Botan determined it to be around nine. That gave her a whopping eight hours till her "date" with Kurama. Her nerves still jumping, she decided it was high time to start getting ready. Obviously, her nervousness had somehow effected her common sense.

So, rational or not, Botan jumped into the shower. Though Kurama may not have considered the date as an actual _date_, Botan sure did. She even broke into Keiko's room and stole through her make up. She took the things that she recognized the most. (There were a few objects that she couldn't figure out what they were much less use.) And applied her makeup, which all appeared to be in the shade of blue. 

After that, Botan went to her closet. For a few moments, her eyes settled on a blue dress. But not only was it utterly ludicrous to where that dress in this weather, Botan had a feeling Kurama would get the wrong idea. After all, she wanted to keep her newfound feelings for him a secret, didn't she? Frankly, she wasn't too sure. She wanted to tell him. She really did. But what if he didn't return her feelings? Or worse yet, what if it effected their friendship? Such a thought was unbearable. 

Quickly, looking away from the dress, Botan selected her best pair of jeans coupled with a quaint red sweatshirt. (Yes, she did own something that wasn't blue.) Then, browsing through her jewelry, Botan found a pair of earrings that matched her necklace best. They were flower-shaped studs with blue rhinestones set in the middle. Feeling as though she couldn't do much more to prepare herself, Botan set back out in the living room and resigned to the couch.

She glanced nervously at the clock, once again wishing it were digital.

3:00.

__

Great...

Her nerves struck back with a vengeance. The fact that the only thing on TV was a really lame sequel to Rudolph didn't help either. She twitched and squirmed for quite some time until, in a last attempt to calm her nerves, she searched for something to eat.

Looking in the fridge, Botan found nothing in particular that suited her current appetite. So, she searched the cabinets. She didn't find much really. Some seasonings, a box of tea bags, a tub of butter...

__

Wait...Don't you normally keep butter in the fridge?

Out of curiosity she peeled the lid of the butter and looked in. Botan gasped. Inside the tub she found not butter but.... Sugar! The thing was chock-full of sugar cubes! Botan's eyes widened with sugary delight.

By the time five o'clock rolled around Botan was sugar high. She'd downed a considerable amount of that sugar and was currently bouncing of the walls. (Quite literally.)

The doorbell rang and Botan bounded the length of the living room and opened the door with exuberance.

"Hi Kurama! How are you? Good? Good! I'm good, too! Is it 5 already? My! How time flies! Let me just get my jacket and we can go!" Botan zipped to the coat closet leaving a very bewildered Kurama standing in the doorway. Kurama coughed and looked toward Botan.

"Er...Botan? Are all right?"

Botan slipped her coat and bounded next to Kurama, "Me? Never better! I'm just fine! Peachy keen! Great! Race you down to the car!" And _whoosh! _She was gone. 

Kurama stood there rather confused for a moment before shutting the door behind him and following Botan. 

Botan's speed was hindered when she came to the elevator and was forced to stop, giving Kurama a chance to catch up with her. But of course at the end of the ride she was off like a rocket again. But this time, Kurama was slightly more prepared and raced after her. 

In the parking lot, Botan sped toward Kurama's car and tagged it triumphantly. Turning back to Kurama, who had taken his sweet time, she announced her victory, "HA! HA! I beat you, Mr. Big-and-bad-kitsune!"

Kurama smiled, having finally come to copes with Botan's.... Overly perky attitude. "So, you did! Hop in, it isn't looked." And demonstrated so by opening the door on the driver's side. Botan did hop in. Quite literally. Upon entering, she buckled her seatbelt and grinned excitedly. Something in the rearview mirror caught her eye. She looked in the backseat and her smile dropped a little.

Kurama started the car, "I hope you don't mind Hiei joining us."

Botan did mind.

"Of course not! Merry Christmas, Hiei!" 

"Hn." 

Botan turned around and faced forward, feeling crest-fallen. Having Hiei here completely ruined her romantic evening with Kurama. Even though it technically wasn't "romantic." She still had wanted to spend time _alone_ with him. Emphasis on the alone. _But,_ she added as an after thought, _maybe having Hiei here won't be so bad. _After all it would help her feel more at ease around Kurama. The knot in her stomach relaxed a little. 

__

I'll just have to take the good with the bad...Or is it bad with the good? No, no, it's the first one. I think.

"So, where are we going?" Botan asked.

"Katashi's Fanshiifuudo."

Botan blinked, "Never heard of it."

"It's a very nice restaurant. And then after that we can do whatever your heart desires." Kurama smiled. Hiei made a disgusted cough in the back seat.

Botan hid her blush. She could think of quite a few things her heart desired. She shrugged, "I'll think about it."

And indeed she did. She was thinking of quite a few things: A moonlight stroll on the beach, a room full of mistletoe, a scene from Lady and the Tramp... Botan shook her head and tried to think of something slightly more realistic. 

Kurama pulled into the parking lot at climbed out followed by Botan and Hiei. Hiei was ordered back to the car, as bringing a katana into the restaurant wasn't the best of ideas. 

The waiter seated them at a nice table and gave them menus. 

Much isn't to be said about dinner. Other than it was lovely. Botan (still perky but slightly less so) took charge of most of the conversation. Kurama laughed at her jokes and chatted idly. Hiei was pretty much silent with the occasional utterance of "Hn." and "Baka,"

They probably would have left sooner except Botan insisted on dessert. And then back in the car, Kurama asked if Botan had made her decision yet. Botan nodded vigorously, "Yup! I decided that..." Botan drew it out for effect, "we should play laser tag!"

"Laser tag?" Kurama and Hiei said in unison. Though Kurama's voice was surprised while Hiei's was more sardonic.

Botan grinned.

Kurama smiled and took a turn toward the laser tag place. 

"You don't have to play of you don't want to Hiei." Kurama said at Hiei's scornful scoff. 

~*~*~*~*~

Botan leaned against one of the plastic rocks on the moonscape. The laser tag field had been constructed to look like an alien planet. The ceiling was painted black and small twinkling lights hung from it to represent stars. Black lights illuminated the field to create the ambiance of space. Botan poised her gun and readied her finger on the trigger, straining her ear for any sign of footsteps.

"The mighty space avenger, Blue Botan, studies the landscape for any sign of the dreaded bounty hunter, Star Fox, or the evil emperor, Hiei." Botan narrated, cringing slightly at her unimaginative names. 

Hearing nothing, Botan raised her gun and sidled the rock wall, glaring suspiciously at a large boulder for any sign of Kurama or Hiei. 

"There seems to be no sign of the villains, but Blue Botan will not be caught unawares..."

Suddenly, something touched her shoulder. Botan yipped and turned on the fiend. She almost fired except at the last moment she realized it wasn't the dreaded bounty hunter or evil emperor.

"Oh, hello! Sorry about that!" Botan said in a whisper. 

The man shrugged and gave a wry smile, "It's okay. You don't remember me do you?"

Botan blinked. She had seen him before...The man moved slightly and the black light shined on him.

Botan gasped, "Oh! I remember you! You showed me the tree!" Botan tried to hide her cringe. The black light was making his skin look even paler.

The pale man nodded, "So you must be Blue Botan."

"Er...It's just Botan actually." Botan put out her hand slightly embarrassed.

"Hakuma." The pale man stated as he shook it.

"Well it's nice to meet you Hakum-" Botan blanched. A sudden pain seared through her mind. Her sugar high became sugar low, "ugh..." She groaned slightly as vertigo consumed her and she began to sway back and forth.

"Are you okay?" Hakuma asked worriedly.

She felt as though she would faint. Her head felt like a balloon that was about to pop. Botan wavered slightly and the crashed full on into Hakuma.

~*~*~*~*~

Kurama sighed as he walked through the desolate plastic moonscape. How had he let Botan talk him into this? Well, actually she hadn't talked him into it at all. She'd merely suggested it and he'd agreed. Now he was gallivanting across this fake landscape with a plastic gun. Kurama sighed again. Well, if he was going to be here he might as well have fun.

At a sudden sound Kurama dived behind a boulder. Reflexes made him do it. He crouched low and pressed his back against the boulder. His finger wrapped around the trigger.

"Are you okay?"

He blinked. The voice was masculine but it definitely wasn't Hiei's, for two reasons: One Hiei's voice was much deeper and two, Hiei would never ask anyone if they were okay. So who was it? And exactly who was the person that was okay or not?

Curiosity gripped him until he couldn't stand it any longer. Lowering his gone, Kurama poked his head out from around the boulder.

His heart stopped.

There was Botan and a very pale man. The man had her in a very tight embrace. 

Kurama's fist clenched to an extent that his knuckles turned white. He glared at this pale man with a sudden hate. Teeth gritted, he stepped out from behind the boulder.

"Excuse me." Kurama said coldly.

Hakuma looked up and blanched, if it was possible for someone as pale as him to become even paler.

"May I inquire as to what you are doing?" Venom dripped from every word that slipped from Kurama's mouth.

"She fainted," Hakuma made a desperate attempt to amend himself. He knew the situation didn't look good. Especially if this man was her boyfriend. 

Kurama's eyes bored into him, causing sweat to bead on Hakuma's brow. After a second of this Kurama took Botan into his arms and walked away.

Walking out, Kurama caught sight of Hiei. He was longing lazily against a rock.

"We're leaving."

Hiei looked up and saw an unconscious Botan in Kurama's arms.

"What happened?"

Kurama didn't answer.

~*~*~*~*~

Kurama lay Botan across the backseat and got in the front.

"Why did the girl pass out?" Hiei persisted.

"I don't know. I found her in the arms of a disturbingly pale man," Kurama recounted.

Hiei stared at his friend. A knowing smile snagged the corners of his lips.

~*~*~*~*~ 

I'm not sure I liked this chapter. It was kind of... blah. Oh, well. There is however good news! They brought Yu Yu Hakusho back to Cartoon Network! Joy! I was _extremely _peeved when they took it off right when it was getting exciting. Glorious joy.

I would have updated this sooner but Fanfiction.net was down. As you all know.

Oh, and I know have an original fiction up on Fictionpress! YAY! I would be very happy if you checked it out. (And review) It's called Almost Anywhere under the name MOG THE GREAT (Someone stole Mogget.) I'm going to post a link to it on bio, just so you know. ^_^ 

Mogget

Put...the candle...back. (10 points to who ever can guess where that's from.)


	9. Taking Down the Garland

Hi! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! Your words are like dappled sunlight on my day! ^_^ 

And in turn, to each one of you I will reply:

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Jellybob15- Why thank you! I agree it was a little "different" then I originally meant it to be. In fact, I originally wanted Hakuma to show up at the restaurant! I don't know why I changed my mind...

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Misao-chan- I was happy they brought it back, too. Especially because I got to see the episode with Youko Kurama all over again. *_* Thanks for the review!

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bluesky- Thank you so much! And really? Who's the fiend who stole my name? Who? ^_^

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Chibi Leelee Milo- Correct! 10 points to you!

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Waterflash- Yes! 0.0 Here's more! Thanks for reviewing and taking the time to write that many mores.

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Harpygirl*91- Wow! Thanks!

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Arcia- I suppose you could say that. But my way of thinking was that Hiei was asking "how did Botan get that way" instead of "is she all right." See? You can justify anything was logic! Thanks for the review!

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eunc- No, Hiei! Don't kill her! She's one of my best reviewers!

Rekaichan14- Thanks! I'm afraid that the laser tag thing was entirely original. I read another Botan/Kurama fic with a laser tag scene in it. I just can't remember what it was...-_-; So thanks for the review and thanks for reviewing my original one, too! You were the only one! Thanks a million!

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Streak- I'm having a lot of fun with the story! And about the pale guy being a demon... You'll just have to find out!

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Momo-ness88- Por vavor? That's Spanish! I can speak Spanish too! Sort of... Yo queiro Taco Bell! Yeah...That's about it. You'll find out who the pale man is soon! Soon, my friend, very soon.

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Lavender Gaia- I wouldn't be surprised either. 0_0 Kurama is scary like that. I wouldn't have been in Hakuma's shoes for the world.

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Cherry Mars- I'm updating! And you'll figure out who he is soon! I think...

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MDJ- Thank you!

Kagomechick- Correct! 10 points! I'm sorry about your floppy dieing. Mine did that once, except it had my Science report on it. -_-Thanks for the review.

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Gen Masho Rajura- So do I. I've lost many a nights sleep when stuff like that happens. Thanks for the review.

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free2rhyme- Thank you very much!

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loanshark- Why thank you! And as I said before, you'll find out soon. At least you know his name now! I was getting sick of calling him "the pale guy."

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Botan and Kurama lover- Oh, my gosh! That's a fantastic idea! You can bet I'll use it!

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Unga the Mighty Pigeon Hunter- Thank you! *gets all teary eyed* I'm glad you enjoyed it! I dropped by your website, by the way. It's fantastic!

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darkBeauty- Are you kidding? I hate that couple! It annoys the heck out of me...Thank you so much for the review and once you come up with a plot tell me! I'd love to read it!

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Lorynn- No! Don't die! I updated! I'm not a big fan of yaoi either. I think I read one yaoi fic and that was by accident. My friend lied to me about the pairing. Glad you liked it! 

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Eunjung- Thanks!

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Kurayami no KitsuneYoukai- Really? I'll have to read it! Thanks for the review!

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Tiffany- No marriage yet! I seriously doubt Kurama will pop the question anytime soon. Sheesh, he doesn't even know he's in love with her yet.

schizofraggle615- Thank you!

Well, that took longer than I thought it would... But that's okay! I'm glad it took long! And by the way, "Put...the candle...back." was from Young Frankenstein.

On with the show!

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 9 ~*~*~*~*~

When Botan woke up she found herself in her room. She was surprised to find herself there. She was even more surprised to see sunlight streaming in through the window. A dull pain flared through her skull. She was beginning to wonder if it was possible to get a hangover from sugar.

She nursed her head in her hands and attempted to clear it so she could think. 

Okay, she was in her room. But this wasn't where she had fallen asleep. But where had she fallen asleep? Not here...Somewhere else..._ The laser tag place!_ Thinking that shot another dull pain through her head. Okay, she remembered that. She'd passed out and the last thing she remembered was.... _Hakuma._ She was talking to him and she'd fainted.

__

Way to make a first impression, Botan. She scolded herself. 

But this still didn't understand how'd she gotten here. That question she found she couldn't answer.

She sighed and looked out the window. She must have been out quite awhile, it had been night last time she'd checked.

Blast! She'd missed out on the end of her "date" with Kurama! The last part was the most important. That's when you stand on the stoop and he gives you a good night kiss! And she'd completely missed it! Okay, so that probably wouldn't have happened.... But still....

She checked herself in the mirror, to check for bruises and what not. She was still in the clothes she'd worn yesterday. Her jewelry was still on, she noticed as she fingered her necklace lovingly. The only thing that was different was that someone had removed her sneakers. Her jacket was hanging on a near by chair.

Her ears picked up the faint sounds of Keiko bustling about in the kitchen. She hoped Keiko would know how she had got here.

She opened the door to her bedroom and tiptoed out to the kitchen. She saw Keiko there, hurriedly cooking something or other. 

"Good Morning, Keiko!" Botan said cheerfully.

Keiko looked up from her cooking book, "Botan! Glad to see you're awake!"

"I'm glad to be awake, too! Except I have this horrible headache." Botan muttered sitting down in a chair.

"That's what happens when you eat a whole tub full of sugar cubes!" 

Botan froze, "So you found out about that, uh?" Botan asked laughing nervously.

"Of course I did! I had absolutely no sugar in my tea this morning!"

Botan smiled timidly, "Oops...eh eh..."

Keiko glared and then turned back to her cookbook, "Do you think I should dye the pancakes? I found out if you put food coloring in the batter they turn colors..."

A blue pancake flashed in Botan's mind, "Oh! That sounds fun!" She hopped up and joined Keiko in the kitchen, "What color are you going to dye it? I vote blue!"

Keiko shrugged, "I was thinking more along the lines of green..."

"No! A green pancake would look like it was moldy or something. Blue is definitely the way to go!"

"All right! Blue it is!" Keiko agreed and went to find the food coloring.

Botan stared at the pancake batter. _It looks rather lumpy, _she thought, before getting up the courage to ask her question.

"Keiko?"

"Hmm?" Keiko answered rummaging through the cabinets.

"What exactly happened last night?"

Keiko stopped her search and turned to Botan, "What do you mean?"  


"Well, last night.... You see I passed out and don't remember what happened after that." Botan felt rather nervous asking her this for some reason. Maybe she was dreading the answer.

"Oh, that! Well, Kurama and Hiei showed up around seven or so, you were unconscious! I was so worried! But Kurama said you were okay. He didn't know why you'd passed out exactly." She trailed off and returned to her search.

And one question still lingered, "Keiko, Kurama didn't happen to be carrying me, did he?"

Keiko stopped and shot a very bemused look at Botan, "Of course he was. Did you think Hiei would be carrying you?" She laughed at the thought of it.

Botan laughed also, she got the joke. The idea of Hiei was kind of silly, really. Not only would he never do it, there was the matter of size ratios. Miniature Hiei carrying not so miniature Botan. Now that would be something to see!

"Why do you ask?"

Botan suddenly turned the color of Kurama's hair, "Er...No reason..."

Botan walked away trying very hard to act natural, and failing miserably. She sat in a nearby chair and tried to keep her mouth shut.

Keiko watched her friend probingly for a moment and smiled before returning to her search.

It was sometime before Botan remembered they were supposed to go to Kurama's house to collect their Christmas decorations. So after breakfast they immediately hopped in Keiko's car and headed to Kurama's house.

When they arrived they found that Kurama had been expecting them.

"Hi, Kurama!" Botan chirped as she entered, "Now where did we put those bags?"

"I put them behind the tree," Keiko answered.

Kurama watched as the two girls dashed to the tree, "Feeling better, Botan?" Kurama asked with a slight hint of frost in his voice.

Botan pulled a bag out from under the tree, "Oh, yes! Much better! Had a slight headache this morning but it's all gone now."

Kurama smiled, "That's good to hear."

"Oh please!" Both Botan and Keiko's heads shot up at the sound of the fire demon's voice. There was Hiei, drinking a cup of coffee with a slight sneer on his face.

"Oh, Hiei! So, good to see you!" Botan greeted.

Hiei deepened his sneer and drank from his cup.

Kurama gave his friend a disapproving look, "If you'd like I could take down the decorations in the bathroom." Kurama directed towards Botan and Keiko.

"Please, do!"

Kurama nodded and left.

Botan and Keiko set to work on the assorted hangings and signs on the wall. They stuffed them all in one of the bags. Botan was the first to come across the mistletoe. She hesitated before snatching the plant angrily from the ceiling and throwing it in the bag. She never wanted to see that plant again.

Hiei sat on a barstool drinking his coffee the entire time.

This was getting on Keiko's nerves. She eventually got to the point where she couldn't stand it anymore.

"You know, Hiei..."Keiko began spitefully; "the least you could do is help us."

Hiei studied her for a second and answered, "No, _this_ is the least I could do." And he took another drink from his cup.

Botan's fury got the best of her, "Oh, come on, Hiei! All you have to do is take down a few decorations!" She reprimanded, hands set firmly on her hips.

"I don't have to _do_ anything," He said sardonically.

Both girls leered at him, looking like they were about to kill him. Hiei was very lucky that Kurama showed up with an armful of garland at that precise moment.

"Where do I put these?"

Keiko and Botan averted their malevolent looks. "On the coffee table, please." Keiko pointed.

Kurama nodded and put the garland in the directed place and turned to remove the decorations in the hallway, "Hiei, would you please take down those stockings hanging above the fireplace?" He added before leaving.

"Hn." Hiei muttered and surprised both girls by getting of the stool and doing so.

Keiko and Botan shot each other bewildered glances before shrugging with a defeated sigh.

~*~*~*~*~

"Okay, Keiko, you grab the bottom half of the tree and we lift in 1-2-"

"Are you sure you don't want Hiei and me to do this?" 

Botan and Keiko glowered at Kurama, "Just because we can't control plants doesn't mean we're totally helpless!" Keiko barked.

Kurama waved his hands apologetically, "No, I didn't mean that. I just-"

"So what did you mean?" Botan countered.

"Nothing, I just thought-"

"I'll have you know," Botan continued, "Keiko and I are completely capable! And we don't always need your help! And if you would please let us do our job we'd be very thankful."

Kurama said nothing. It wasn't safe to.

"Okay, Keiko. Do you have a firm grasp on your end of the tree?"

"Yes," Keiko confirmed.

"All right! 1-2-3! Lift!"

Botan and Keiko lifted the tree from the ground.

"And now, Kurama," Botan said trying very hard to hide the strain in her voice, "Would you be a dear and open the front door?"

Kurama nodded and did so.

"Okay, now walk!" Keiko ordered and she took a step forward, her arms starting to feel sore. 

Botan took a step backward, having the front of the tree she was forced to walk with her back to the door depending on Keiko to guide her.

"Back, back, back...Keep moving. That's it! Almost there!" Keiko kept calling. Botan soon started feeling the cool winter air on her back.

"Be careful here, there's a step." Kurama reminded her from his station by the door.

They made it past the door without fault and they nearly ran it to the curb. Upon reaching the curb both girls dropped the tree and exercised their sore arms.

"Ugh...."

"That tree was heavy!" Keiko exclaimed.

"Why did we say we wanted to carry the tree again?" Botan asked out of breath.

"I don't remember," Keiko said after a moment and straightened herself, "Well, let's get back to work," Her voice didn't sound like she was looking forward to the idea.

"Oh, you go ahead. I'll stay out here and...Rest a bit," Botan panted, waving Keiko away.

"All right..." Keiko gave her friend a worried look and went back inside.

Botan flinched, her am was smarting. That tree was heavier than it looked.

__

Carrying that tree wasn't one of my better ideas, Botan rubbed her arm.

"Well, if it isn't Botan!"

Botan turned around. Before her stood none other than Hakuma, "Oh! How nice to see you again!"

Botan waved cheerfully.

"And you too! We keep running into each other don't we?" Hakuma had his hand shoved in the pockets of his jeans. A leather jacket protected him from the winter's cold. Botan couldn't have been happier to see him out in the sun. It would do him some good. Darken his complexion, hopefully.

"Well if that isn't a koinky-dink!" Botan smiled.

Hakuma nodded, "So what brings you here?"

Botan shot a scornful look at the tree, "Just taking down a few decorations. How about you?"

"Just walking, I live around here."

"How wonderful! Perhaps I could visit you someday!" Botan clapped her hands to together.

Hakuma laughed softly, "I'll do you one better."

Botan looked at him quizzically.

"There's a coffee shop a little way from here what do you say to a drink?" Hakuma asked.

Botan didn't see any reason why not. She was always up for making new friends, "Sure, are we taking your car?"

Hakuma nodded.

"All right then! I'll just grab my coat and tell the guys I'm leaving."

Botan burst in and raced to the couch, on which she'd placed her coat, "Keiko!" She called; "I'm going out with Hakuma I'll be back soon!" And with that she rushed right back out the door.

Keiko stopped what she was doing and looked at the door Botan had exited from stunned.

"Did she just say she was going out?" She asked with disbelief.

"I believe so," Kurama stated with as little emotion as possible.

"With who?" Keiko inquired, still unsure she'd heard right.

"Some ningen named Hakuma," Hiei answered flatly.

Keiko blinked. And at last the information sunk in, "WHAT!?!?!"

Both Hiei and Kurama visibly jumped.

"We've got to follow them!" Keiko laid hold of both Kurama and Hiei's wrists and dragged them to the car.

~*~*~*~*~

Oh what wonderfully useful plot devices Hiei and Keiko are becoming. I must admit I put them in the story a good deal more than any of the other characters save Kurama and Botan. Well, I suppose just about every thing with Kurama in it has to have Hiei in there somewhere. Being such good _friends_ and all. Hear that? _Friends._ Did you catch the emphasis?

Okay, that was slightly off topic. Back to the glorious point.

Many thanks to **Kurama and Botan lover** for coming up with idea for this chapter 1000 points to you.

I'm beginning to think that action/adventure bit under the genre does really imply to this story. The only real action was in the second chapter and we are currently in the ninth. Perhaps I should change it to humor or something. Meh. 

Thanks for the reviews and keep it up!

-Mogget


	10. Coffee House Mischeif

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 10 ~*~*~*~*~

Keiko pushed Kurama and Hiei into the car and positioned herself in the driver's seat. She started the car and like a woman possessed, backed out of the driveway and zipped off, in search of the proper car to follow.

Keiko glared. The glare wasn't directed at anything in particular, she just needed to vent her anger. And glaring seemed the most healthy way to do it. Keiko turned a corner and spotted a car just a little ways ahead of them. It was obviously this "Hakuma's" car for she could easily spot Botan's long, blue, hair on the passenger side. She immediately eased of the gas and slowed down enough to stay a good deal behind them while still keeping them in sight.

Kurama, who had been waiting patiently for some for some explanation as to why he had been forced in the car, looked up as the car slowed down. He glanced out the windshield to see the cause of Keiko's change in speed and saw it immediately. In the car ahead of them were two people, a man and a woman. The man didn't look all that familiar but the woman's blue hair gave her away immediately.

"Keiko? May I inquire as to what we are doing?" Kurama asked looking suspiciously at the car in front of them. 

Keiko stopped her glaring and visibly paled. She bit her lip and chewed it pensively. Answering his question proved difficult. Not that she didn't know the answer, but telling him it probably wouldn't be a wise choice at this particular step in her plan. As she saw it, she had two choices: The first would be to tell him the truth. The second was to give him a _very_ vague answer and hope it threw him off her trail.

The truth (If she were to tell him it.) went something like: "Well, Kurama, you see, for the past few months I've been sort of playing cupid. And as luck would have it, you and Botan have been chosen as my first subjects! I chose you two, because it occurred to me that she was lonely and thought you were the perfect match for her! And I know she likes you! I know! But going out with this 'Hakuma' person is ruining everything! So, I have to follow them to see if they hit it off!"

Keiko glanced sideways at Kurama and decided that may not be the best way thing to tell him. So, she went with the latter.

"I'm..." Drat! She'd forgotten she was a horrible liar! She must think of something! _Think, think, think._ _Okay..._ "I'm making sure she's not going out with an axe murder. That's all."

"_Axe murder?_" Kurama looked at her skeptically, _very _skeptically, but didn't press the matter. He nodded and faced the front. Keiko must have her reasons, however strange they may be. After a moment's silence he commented, "They seem to be heading toward the coffee shop by the park."

Keiko nodded and turned down an adjoining street to take the longer route.

__

Okay, I think that lie threw him off. Best not press my luck.

~*~*~*~*~

Hakuma pulled into the coffee shop's parking lot and he and Botan got out of the car. He graciously held the door open for Botan and strode in after her. He grinned sheepishly as Botan thanked him and said, "There's a table over there. I'll order something and be right there."

"Okay!" Botan agreed, eyeing said table. She sat down and admired her surroundings. She'd personally never been in a coffee shop before, though she'd heard all about them. It was cozy enough. There were a few tables but hardly enough to keep a large number of people seated. Obviously, the shop was meant to just be a sort of "stop and go" place. It was nice though.

She nodded as Hakuma sat down and placed a steaming cup in front of her.

"So, Hakuma..." she began, looking for way to break the ice, "Do you have a dog? I love dogs! Particularly foxes..." 

~*~*~*~*~

Keiko grabbed Hiei and Kurama's wrists and bolted through the front door and nearly crashed into the table she'd been aiming for. At the last moment she ducked and dived under the table, catching a few awkward glances from the people at the tables nearby.

"Woman! I've tried to be patient with you but you are flirting with my last nerve!" Hiei snapped after straightening himself. 

Keiko shushed him angrily and sat up so she could peer over the table.

"Why you insolent-"

"Really, Keiko, I must insist you tell us what's going on," Kurama cut Hiei's rebuke short.

Keiko sat back down on the floor and muttered, "Good, they're just talking." She evidently hadn't heard Kurama.

Kurama sighed resignedly. These girls were getting weirder every day.

"Hmm...This floor isn't a very good look out spot." Keiko continued with her monologue. But she couldn't risk a better spot for fear of Botan spotting them. They needed some sort of cover. Keiko gazed around the shop for something useful. 

"Ah! This'll do."

She crawled over to a nearby man's table and tugged on his pant leg in order to get his attention. Startled, the man looked down.

"Excuse me sir, but could I use your newspaper?"

It was all he could do gape at this strange girl.

"Please sir! I'll give it right back!" Keiko pleaded.

Mouth still wide open he handed his newspaper to her.

She gave the nearest thing to a bow as she could, "Thank you!" and she crawled back to Hiei and Kurama. Both of them were giving her strange looks, but not to the extent of the man's. This was probably due to the fact they were used to this sort of behavior. Though, they'd never expect it from _her._ When Kurama had first met her, he'd thought she was the most normal of the group. This recent behavior was proving him wrong, very wrong. 

"Okay, take one of these," Keiko divided the paper into the three sections. Holding the paper in front of her face she climbed into the chair. Kurama followed, though somewhat reluctantly. He was just happy to be off the floor. Hiei grunted and did the same. Keiko looked expectantly over the top of the news paper to the table Hakuma and Botan were sitting at.

Kurama looked over at them, as well. And was surprised to find he _did_ know this mysterious Hakuma. Why it was none other than the pale man from the laser tag place! He looked over at Hiei to tell him this but he found his friend staring fixedly at the crossword puzzle.

"Oh! I can't hear a thing!" Keiko complained, trying desperately to read lips. 

"Well, we are very far away," Kurama said pointedly.

"Then we'll just have to move closer. Follow me."

Keiko stood up, still holding the paper in front of her face and made way across the room. She dived into an open chair and a table merely feet away from Botan. Kurama and Hiei slipped into the chairs next to her and listened.

"And that's what the song 'Ring Around the Rosy' is about!" Botan exclaimed cheerfully, lifting her coffee for a drink.

"Oh..." Hakuma began, somewhat mystified, "That's... somewhat morbid, actually."

"Oh! It's horrible!" Botan agreed, "Don't even get me started on 'Three Blind Mice'!"

Hakuma shook his head, "I'd rather not know."

Botan laughed at Hakuma's squeamishness. And took another drink from her coffee only to find she had none left, "Oh dear! I'm out!"

Hakuma nodded and looked at his cup, which actually hadn't touched. It was still filled to the brim. He slid the cup aside so she wouldn't notice, "You know, Botan, I'm very happy you came with me today."

Botan smiled cheerfully, "Oh! It was nothing! It was nice talking to you." She looked around for a trash container. (Not even noticing the three newspaper-reading people at the table a little ways over.)

Hakuma returned her smile, but with a more sly appearance, "I hope to see you again." He inched towards her and leaned forward, his face a measly inch from hers. Botan noticed this and shifted her weight away from Hakuma, hoping he'd get the hint.

Kurama had forgotten his newspaper, it lay abandoned on the table. He glowered at this pale creature, what did he think he was doing? He didn't even notice as Keiko signaled him to pick his disguise up.

Botan smiled weakly, he still wasn't getting the hint and he was leaning dangerously close. Hakuma mistook her smile and groped Botan's leg. 

Kurama sprang to his feet. 

Botan fell out of her chair.

She yelped and closed her eyes in preparation for the impact. But instead of meeting the floor she felt something surprisingly soft. Had the floor been carpeted and she hadn't noticed? She opened her eyes to see.

"Kurama?"

But Kurama wasn't looking at her. He was sending a seething look in Hakuma's direction. He looked positively livid. Looking past his shoulder, Botan could she the two stunned faces of Hiei and Keiko.

Hakuma looked as though he would faint from shock. He was actually shaking with fear. Clumsily, he stumbled to his feet and grasped the back of the chair for support. Eyes wide with fear, he cast a wary glance around him. The entire coffee shop was watching them by now. Hakuma turned back to Kurama, he looked as though he would strangle him at any moment. Not wanting him to follow out with this action he darted for the door.

With Hakuma gone, Kurama's expression softened and he help Botan to her feat.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes," she muttered weakly.

Hiei and Keiko stood up and walked over to them, Hiei's glares making the onlookers look away.

Keiko clapped her hands together in order to ebb the tension, "Let's go home, then."

~*~*~*~*~

Hakuma fumbled out of the coffee shop with a speed that would be hard pressed to match. He didn't bother with the car. It wasn't his anyway. He ran down the street and turned a corner into an alley. He didn't want to deal with anything right now. He was fairly upset with is recent failure and didn't want to deal with anything at the moment.

He sat down on a box and slumped over. He cursed vehemently. Twice he'd had his chance and twice his plans were foiled! By the same man! Quite frankly, Hakuma was growing sick of it. If he were ever to get his plans completed, he'd have to dispose of that meddlesome, red-headed, idiot!

"Oh, and I'll find a very painful way to do it too! Humiliating me twice! Oh, I'd like to wring his filthy little neck!" Hakuma demonstrated this by wringing the invisible neck in front of him.

"Hahahaha! You are a scream Hakuma!"

Hakuma looked up and glared, "It's not nice to sneak up on people, Arisu," he said grudgingly.

"Oh! But it's so fun to listen to you rant!" Arisu countered with a giggle.

Hakuma regarded his sister with indignation, "Leave me be, wench."

Arisu flipped her long white hair back as she laughed, "And where is this girl you've been talking of? Didn't you say she'd be yours by this time today?"

Hakuma grunted, "I've met an obstacle in my plans. Don't worry. He'll be disposed of soon."

Arisu arched her eyebrow, "Is this the man who humiliated you twice?"

Hakuma didn't reply.

"How's about I get out the _Big Book of Tortures_ and we see if we can find a suitable death for him?"

Hakuma nodded, "Very well..."

~*~*~*~*~

Ugh... It's late, I'm tired, and I want sleep. G'night everybody!

Please don't hate me.


	11. Reflections in the Tea Cup

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 11~*~*~*~*~

The sun had been set for quite sometime before Kurama at last returned home. He opened his door to a dark and empty house and stepped in from the winter's cold. He blindly searched for a light switch to illuminate the room and then made way to the kitchen.

Kurama wasted no time in locating the teakettle and filling it with water. He'd made tea so many times the procedure was ingrained in his memory. He went through the motions mechanically. Soon ,his thoughts began to wander. Leaving the teakettle on the stove, his mind retreated back to the occurrences of the day.

After the incident at the coffee house Kurama had never left Botan's side. He never strayed far from her. He was protecting her. The action was instinctive. He felt, some how, it was his duty too. At first, all he did was ask questions concerning her health. Was she alright? Did she need anything?

Botan had merely smiled and chided him playfully, "I'm fine, Kurama. He just made an unexpected move."

Kurama nodded and kept any further queries to himself. Shame stirred with in him for being overly concerned. It was really a trivial matter. And yet why did it vex him so? 

In fact, as he recounted the day's events, he found the reason he'd felt many of his emotions a mystery. When Botan had mentioned she was going out, he'd felt a very strange tinge of jealousy. At the time it hadn't occurred to him that the feeling was strange. It had just suddenly came to him and it seemed natural that it should. 

Perhaps he would have realized what he was feeling if the feeling of jealousy hadn't been quickly replaced with surprise. He hadn't expected Keiko to act so strangely at Botan going out. Even stranger still that she'd actually been right to follow them. Had Keiko known that Hakuma would do something? But how? He was almost positive she'd never met Hakuma. So why had she insisted on following Botan?

He ran his hand through his hair wistfully. It was a mystery that Kurama may never be able to solve. He would ask her but he imagined she'd just give him another ridiculous answer. He didn't bother to dwell on that particular mystery and moved on.

But perhaps the most perplexing of all was how he had reacted when Hakuma had...Moved so _close _to Botan. A mixture of emotions gripped him all at once, tearing him in a hundred different directions.

The first was the constant feeling of jealousy. Jealousy that was fueled by the newly developed hate towards Hakuma. Then shock. After shock was a feeling that filled Kurama with a horrible sense of guilt. He'd felt anger. But this anger hadn't been directed at Hakuma but at Botan.

He'd been angry with Botan? As he saw Hakuma move in thoughts such as _Why doesn't she move away? Slap him? Do something! _had raced through his mind. Kurama would have screamed then had his shock not prevented him from doing so.

The probably the smallest feeling was the one that prevailed in the end. When watching Hakuma concern had taken a back seat to the stronger emotions with louder voices. But when he'd seen Botan fall concern surfaced itself so suddenly that Kurama had hardly time to think. One minute he'd been paralyzed with shock, the next minute he'd caught Botan and was glaring angrily at Hakuma.

Hakuma had been most fortunate that Kurama had had Botan in his arms at that moment, for with all the rage broiling within him Kurama was liable to snap.

After Hakuma's flight, they'd promptly decided to take Botan home. Surprisingly enough, Botan never asked why they'd "somehow" appeared at the coffee house. She'd been too grateful, he supposed. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

The high-pitched whistle of the tea kettle brought him sharply from his stream of thought. Kurama grudgingly shut the stove of and went in search of a tea cup. Upon locating one, Kurama strode over to the pantry and removed a tea bag from its box. He dropped the bag into his cup, careful to drape the string over the rim. He took up the tea kettle and let the hot water join the tea bag in the cup. A long wisp of steam wafted upward.

He'd heard somewhere, that when the steam went exactly straight up, it was good luck. Kurama smiled with amusement. What strange superstitions humans had. He pulled open the draw in which he kept all his utensils and withdrew a spoon and stirred instinctively.

Still stirring, Kurama found a seat at the counter at drank the tea from his cup thoughtfully.

So, the question was: Why had he felt these things?

He tipped the cup forward and saw his reflection caught in the cup. As he gazed into the tea's brown, translucent surface, a knot tied itself in his stomach. The thought struck him that he might already know why. It was on the tip of his tongue, floating just out of his reach.

Suddenly, Kurama noticed that his reflection was not alone. 

"It's not polite to sneak up on people, Hiei," Kurama commented before taking a sip.

"Are you really that dense?"

Kurama set his cup on the table whirled around to face the fire demon, eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

Hiei fixed him in one of his ice-cold stares, "I'd always assumed you were smarter than this, Kurama."

All Kurama could do was stare blankly at Hiei with a baffled expression.

Hiei rolled his eyes with a superior air, "You've been living with these humans far too long."

"What are you talking about?" A slightly offensive tone was taking his voice. Kurama did not appreciate having his intelligence insulted.

"I see no reason why I should tell you, if you're such an idiot that you can't figure it out for yourself," Hiei sneered.

Kurama arched his eyebrow suspiciously, "Figure what out?"

The fire demon's eyes pierced into him meaningfully. Kurama said and turned back to his tea. He lifted the spoon off the table with every intention to stir. The tea really didn't need stirring, just the familiar movement would help him think, but as he lifted the spoon he froze suddenly, leaving the spoon hovering over the cup.

There it was. Right there in front of him as plain as day. It was simple. Why had it never occurred to him before? Why hadn't he realized?

The spoon slipped from his fingers at went clattering into the tea cup, splashing the hot liquid everywhere, but Kurama didn't notice. 

The edge of Hiei's mouth twitched upward in what could have been a half-smile.

Kurama sat there gaping a look of disbelief on his face, "I...I...I love her..." he gasped in barely more than a whisper.

Hiei nodded resolutely, "So you're not as dense as I thought." 

Kurama didn't hear him, he was far too astonished to hear anything. He slouched forward and held his head in his hands, "What am I going to do?"

"Hn," Hiei frowned considerably, "Baka! Tell her!"

Kurama looked up at him in surprise. 

"Yes," he began weakly, "I'll tell her."

~*~*~*~*~

Ha!!! I updated! Hooray! Huzzah! And now I shall run away because I don't want to be stoned for ending it there.

I apologize for this chapter being incredibly, horrendously short. But an update's an update, as I always say. *dodges the stones being thrown at her*

And I'd also like to apologize for any OOC-ness on Hiei's part. I tried, I really did. But Hiei's incredibly hard to figure out. He's very complex, don't cha know.

Argh!!! Next update will be so soon it'll make you're head spin!

That was a lie, but I'm okay with that.


	12. A Confession Interrupted

~*~*~*~*~Chapter 12~*~*~*~*~

Arisu regarded her brother gruffly; arms folded across her chest and lower lip stuck out in a disappointed pout. After a moment of forced silence she couldn't stand it any more and burst forth with her opinion, "Are you sure you want to do this one? I mean, that Chinese water torture sounded fantastic!"

Hakuma didn't bother looking at her as he answered, "Quite sure. It's perfect." With a devious smile playing across his thin lips, he lifted into view a small wooden chest, no larger than a breadbox and balanced perfectly on the tips of his fingers. The wood was a polished mahogany and shone with its deep reddish hue as the sun glistened off its surface. It's edges and corners were gilded with undulating vines of gold with tiny exquisite leaves clinging from them. Its lock, also surrounded with golden vines and leaves, was set with an emerald that sparkled with green radiance. 

From his pocket, Hakuma withdrew a small delicate key. Its uneven edges were made to fit the small keyhole under the emerald.

"This box while cause more damage than that ridiculous water torture ever could," he stated, rubbing the key's teeth with a pale finger.

Arisu was far from changing her mind, "But you don't even get to watch!"

Hakuma's gray eyes flashed agitatedly, "The point is that he suffers."

His sister rolled her eyes, "If you say so..." She unfolded her arms and started digging through the bag that hung from her shoulder, "Oh, and I went and got the information you wanted. Now, where did I put that-Oh! Here we are-You were right. He's no human." Arisu flapped a small packet of papers she'd fetched from her bag in front of Hakuma's face.

"I thought so," he said, taking the packet from her and flipping through it. He stopped suddenly and his features filled with alarm at what he saw written on the page.

"Youko Kurama? The famous thief?"

Arisu nodded and withdrew a stick of gum from her bag, she unwrapped the stick and popped it in her mouth, "Yup...Mind blow, isn't it? Thought the dude was dead..."

Hakuma gulped, "As did I." He shook his head and moved on. 

"So his ningen name is Shuuichi Minamino."

Arisu nodded, blowing a bubble.

"You'll have to call him by this if you want the plan to work."

"Okey-dokey, Hakuma! Would you like me to leave right away or hang loose for a sec?"

Hakuma smiled, "By all means, leave now."

~*~*~*~*~

__

Botan, I must confess that I have feelings for you.

Kurama picked up his pen and looked over his neat scrawl. He raised an eyebrow as he scrutinized his work. 

It was pathetic. A sorry excuse for a proclamation of love. It had no feeling, no romantic sense at all.

With a sigh of disappointment Kurama scratched it out and it joined the other masses of black scribble already consuming most the page.

He tapped the pen on the table top pensively, waiting for inspiration to strike. He wanted something more on the romantic side, correct? So perhaps some heartfelt poetry was the ticket. Granted, he wasn't much of a poet, but it was a thought. He brought the pen to paper and wrote:

__

Botan, you are like the rose. Exquisite in every way shape and form. Every aspect of you radiates with unhindered beauty. And I must admit that I love you far more than anything else in this world.

Kurama tried to picture her reaction to this, but try as he might he could not see it. This was romantic enough, surely. But it sounded like something drawn from a romance novel, not true to life at all. He studied his words for a few seconds more and then scratched it out irritably. Why should he bother? This was useless. He crumbled the piece of scrap-paper until it was a neat ball in his hand and tossed it angrily aside.

He despairingly slouched forward and cupped his face in his hands. How was he going to do this?

~*~*~*~*~

Keiko waltzed out into the kitchen with high hopes. All her problems seemed to dissipate while she cooked. It was a calm retreat to her happy place. She selected her _Breakfasts from Around the World_ Cookbook and flipped through it eagerly. French toast sounded nice...

She went to fetch the bread from the fridge. She was so dazed that she didn't even notice the fire demon until she nearly walked in to him.

"Ahhh!" She yelped and stepped back suddenly, "Hiei! What are you doing here?"

Hiei sneered, as though being here was below him, "I just thought I'd tell you that your idiotic little plan...thing... worked."

Keiko looked at him in a muddled trance, "What plan?"

"You know perfectly well what plan!" he snapped.

She searched her mind, but found no plan that he could possibly know of. Unless he meant Operation: Get Kurama and Botan Together. But she hadn't told anyone about that, so it was utterly ridiculous-

"It's not as ridiculous as you think, Ningen."

Keiko looked at him in horror, "YOU'VE BEEN READING MY MIND!!!"

Hiei shrugged, "So?"

Keiko was nearly boiling over with rage now, "So? SO? You've been snooping around in my private thoughts, you perverted little demon!"

Hiei smirked wryly, "There wasn't anything of interest in there anyway."

Keiko was on the verge of strangling the fire demon, luckily Botan decided to enter.

"Good morning, Keiko! Hiei? What brings you to our humble abode so early in the morning?" Botan said perkily.

Hiei looked as though he were about to reply but Keiko immediately interceded. 

"Hiei just came over for some breakfast. He doesn't eat it that much after all, what with living in a tree. I mean, he probably only eats pinecones-"

"I DO NOT EAT PINECONES, BAKA!"

Keiko jumped, "I didn't say you did...I was just-"

"Woman! I've been patient with you thus far. But this is the final straw!" Hiei retorted. The spiteful look in his eyes suggested that Keiko was extremely fortunate she was Yusuke's girlfriend or she'd be receiving a much more painful punishment.

"Listen, Hiei, can't we be reasonable about this..."

Botan felt small beads of sweat form on her brow. You could cut the tension in here with a knife, "Can't we all just get along?" Botan attempted to ebb the argument between her two friends.

Then the phone rang. Immediately, the noise in the kitchen died down and fell silent.

Botan picked the phone up and answered, "Hello? Oh! Hi, Kurama!"

Keiko gaped at Botan and then turned to Hiei who was smirking at her.

__

I told you so, his voice rang in her head. 

Keiko would have glared at him, hadn't she been so stunned that her plan actually worked.

Botan twirled the phone cord around her finger as she listened. At length Kurama seemed to have finished talking and Botan opened her mouth to reply, "All right-y then, Kurama-kun! I'll be right there."

Botan set the phone down with a _click_ and faced the two with a smile brightening on her face, "Kurama asked me to go to the park, would you guys like to come too?"

Keiko merely stared at Botan blankly. 

Hiei, being the least surprised of the two (Actually he wasn't surprised at all. He knew this was coming. But he was quite pleased the kitsune had the courage to actually go through with it.) answered her first, "Why should _I _go to the park?" He spoke of the park as though it were a dumpster, "It's just some idiotic past time for ignorant ningen."

This comment snapped Keiko out of her trance. She blinked a few times before what the koorime had said finally sunk in. She immediately took it to be an insult, "Why is it that you despise humans so? What have we ever done to you?" 

Hiei smirked, "They breathe my air."

Keiko was visibly shaking with rage. She drew her hand back and look as though she was about to slap the short demon. Botan panicked and dived across the counter and grasped Keiko's arm before it got a chance to connect.

"Now, now. No need for violence," Botan pleaded.

Hiei was unabashed, "As I am here, I may as well have something to eat. Don't want to be eating anymore _pinecones_, now do I?" He threw her own words at her with the soul-purpose of getting Keiko even more livid.

Keiko tried to jar her hand lose from Botan's grip but the deity only tightened. Keiko glared at her and then turned and sent an even more seething look at Hiei. Realizing she'd lost this battle she lowered her arm with a resigned sigh, "Fine. I hope you like French Toast, Your Majesty."

Botan grinned and got off of the counter. Her ribs had been beginning to ache anyway and she lowered herself to the ground.

"Alright then! I'll just get ready!" And with that she pranced to her room.

Keiko watched after her for a moment and looked at Hiei, "So...You think Kurama'll ask her out or something?"

Hiei shrugged, "Hn."

~*~*~*~*~

Botan sighed as she tied her shoes into their usual double knot. She really wished Keiko had decided to come. She really didn't want to be alone with Kurama. Just being near him seemed intolerable. Her stomach was already turning its usual flips and flops at the thought of him. It would be worse when she was actually next to him. She knew the feeling all to well. The feeling of your abdomen going through the spin cycle. And then of course, the inevitable blush. It felt as though her cheeks were on fire.

She hated being in love.

Her knot firmly tied she went in search of a jacket. 

Why was he asking to see her? Did he know? A fleeting sense of panic gripped her. What if he did! What would he say? She could already hear it, "Botan, we need to talk. I don't want this ruining our friendship."

The blue-haired deity cringed at the thought. She slid her arms in her jacket and prepared her most cheerful voice. 

"Bye, guys! I'm off to the park!" And she zipped out the door before they decided to fight again.

Hiei watched her leave with a small smirk on his face. As the door slammed behind her, Hiei swiveled around and redirected his smirk at Keiko. "So, where's my breakfast, Woman?"

"Eat pinecones," Keiko muttered begrudgingly.

~*~*~*~*~

Kurama paced back and forth on the sidewalk, mumbling to himself. He cursed himself for calling her so soon. He had nothing planned, nothing thought out. He had no idea what to say. He wrung his hands as he walked, staring fixedly at his feet.

"Botan...There are no words..." There really wasn't any words. Not one in his extensive vocabulary. Why had he called her? He could have waited. He should have waited.

He sharply turned at started walking the other way. His mumbling caused a few passers-by to give him strange looks. 

At some other time, perhaps Kurama would have noticed. But right now he was desperately trying to find the words that had escaped him.

"Shuuichi!"

It took him a moment to realize someone was calling for him. He looked up to see who it was.

A girl was running toward him waving her arms around franticly. Kurama looked at her blankly. He hadn't a clue who she was. Perhaps it was someone from his old high school. Whoever she was, Kurama was quite annoyed to be disturbed from his thoughts.

The girl ran up to him and greeted him warmly, "Hello! You don't remember me do you?"

Kurama shook his head truthfully, "I'm afraid not." He tried to layer his voice with a bit of reproach. But it was impossible to do so without seeming rude.

"Ah, well," the girl waved her hand forgetfully, "That's okay. I hardly recognized you either. My name's Arisu."

Kurama nodded, "Pleased to meet you." He wanted desperately for this girl to leave.

Arisu smiled, flashing every one of her white teeth. She unzipped the bag that hung at her hip and pulled something from it. "I have a gift for you."  


The kitsune raised an eyebrow suspiciously. He began to think there hadn't been an Arisu at his high school.

She pulled out a small wooden chest from her bag and held it before her. Her smile took on a sudden threatening appearance.

"To Kurama, with love." Arisu snapped the lid of the chest open.

~*~*~*~*~

Botan had looked all over the park and had found neither hide nor hair of Kurama. He was gone. No where to be found.

At first she thought that perhaps she'd gotten there first. He did, after all, live a great deal farther from the park then she did. So, she simply found a comfortable park bench and waited.

But as the sun crept higher and higher in the sky, she began to get the sinking feeling that he wasn't coming.

She shook her head miserably. But it wasn't like him to just stand someone up like that. In any case, _he'd _been the one to invite her. Why would he neglect the meeting he, himself, had called?

He probably had a very good reason for not being here. Perhaps his mother had become ill and he had to rush to her side.

Yes, that was probably the case.

Still feeling slightly crestfallen Botan slowly got up to leave.

"Leaving so soon?"

Botan looked up hopefully but was disappointed, "Hakuma?"

The pale man nodded, "Indeed."

The blue-haired deity suddenly very much wanted to leave. It wasn't what he had done to her yesterday, she'd simply assumed he'd gotten his signals crossed. But he seemed different somehow.

Botan coughed politely, "Well, I was just going so-"

"You're not going anywhere," Hakuma said, his voice alarmingly cold.

"Pardon?" Botan asked nervously.

"Your coming with me. Now."

~*~*~*~*~

MUHAHAHA!! That would be two, count 'em, two cliffhangers! HA! 

So, I updated! Three cheers for me. This lovely little chapter was sitting unfinished in my hard drive for quite sometime. Hiei was being difficult again. I swear he is the most annoying person to write dialogue for. So, you may notice he's having trouble being in character. But at least he's in this chapter. After sitting at the computer wondering for an hour on how he was going to reply I really considered editing him out all together. So instead of doing that I just put in the ever trusty "hn."

Let's see, I was asked a question in a particular review if I was going to turn this into a lemon. The answer is, of course, no. Were this going to be a lemon I would have made the rating "R" instead of the neat little "PG" I have there now. 

Another question was, "Am I going to turn this into a Hiei/Keiko?" Once again the answer is no. I really could because I like the pairing and it would be really easy for me to do so, but no. Keiko is pretty much with Yusuke at this point.

Wow, that was quite a long Author's note. Good-bye all! Off to another day at the torture chamber!

__


	13. Koenma's Bad Day

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A happy fan- Hehe. You'll find out what happened to Kurama in the next chapter. Or at least you should.

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Hikaru-Shedou- Correct here's your ten points! And here's your cookie! (That's just for being an excellent reviewer.)

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sister of chaos- Thanks so much! Sweet was what I was going for.

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Night Beauty- You'll find out!

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Botan and Kurama lover- Okey dokie. Thanks a bunch.

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Cheeto- Why thank you! I missed my huzzah! HUZZAH! 

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Steph-chan- MUHAHAHA!! You gotta love cliffies. Keeps 'em reading. ^_~Thanks for the review.

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Meiko M- At least the cliff hangers weren't as bad in this one. *dodges stone* Sorry! These sort of things happen when you get closer to the climax!

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KuramaBotan- I whole-heartedly agree! 

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The Guy- Kurama is...indisposed at the moment. But you'll find out soon.

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Zen- I hope this update came soon enough! Thanks for the review! I'll try to update sooner this time.

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legendary spirit of the wind- Oh, you're welcome! There's bound to be a lot more chapters! I promise!

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KitsuneGirl- Don't worry. Kurama will hurt him plenty! Thanks for the review.

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Reikachan14- Thank you!

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DeityofRoses- ^_^ With a review like that, of course I'll continue!

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Jellybob 15- Thank you!!! It's nice to hear that sort of thing! 

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Kartos- *shrugs* He probably does but is to stubborn to say anything to Kurama. By the way, I checked out your web comic. You haven't updated that for a long time. Have you given up on it or what?

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bluesky7- I hope this was soon enough! Thanks very much! You're one of my favorite reviewers!

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Kuroya- I'll try not to! Thanks for the review! It made me smile real big!

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Lavender Gaia- Thanks! At least Hiei's not completely OOC as I thought. If only he weren't so stubborn! Grr! Anywho, I happened upon that interesting link on your Bio. What is that?

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kuramafangrl4eva- Aw, but I like it! It's really humorous! Thank you for reviewing!

~*~*~*~*~Chapter 13~*~*~*~*~

Koenma rapped his pudgy, infant fingers on his desk, his face looking more sour by the second. Worry-wrinkles formed on his face as he starred haughtily at his hand. Thus far today hadn't been his day. He was suffering from an enormous headache, George had stolen the last of the creampuffs, one of his ferry girls hadn't shown up for work and to top it all off he'd just heard his favorite show had been canceled.

Yes, indeed, it was one of those days where one wonders why they even bothered getting up that morning. The toddler chewed on his pacifier as he glanced at the clock. Botan was a half hour late.

He was a gracious boss, wasn't he? He granted Botan her wish of a nice winter break. He'd been reasonable. So why then wasn't she here? He'd told her to report back today. What was so hard about that?

__

Gah! That girl is so infuriating! Koenma thought has he slammed his fists down on the table.

George, the blue ogre standing at a safe distance, chose this time to chide his superior, "You know, Koenma-sama, frowning causes premature wrinkles."

This was not a wise thing to say to Koenma, especially not in this foul mood. "Ogre! If I wanted your opinion I'd ask for it!"

George stepped back a little further, "Sorry, sir."

Koenma crossed his arms, "Good."

George looked at the clock, wanting Botan to come soon. He very much wanted to be out of the agitated toddler's presence. He ventured to say something else, "It isn't like Botan to be late..." He stopped and cast a wary eye at Koenma, but the prince merely continued drumming the desk with his fingers. This encouraged George and he continued, "Perhaps you ought to call her..."

Koenma ceased his drumming. "Of course I ought to call her you big oaf! That's exactly what I was about to do!"

George looked stunned, "Yes, Koenma."

Koenma glared at his blue servant before dialing Botan's number on the key-pad on his desk. A large television monitor lowered in front of him, the screen blank. There was a sound of a distant sort of ringing until at last someone answered.

"Hello?" the blankness of the screen dissipated and the clear picture showed a chocolate-haired girl holding a phone.

"Hello, Keiko."

Keiko seemed somewhat stunned at the sound of the toddler's voice at the other end and it took her a moment to answer.

"Er...Hi, Koenma. What can I do for you?" Keiko held a hand over the receiver and said something to someone else in the room before retuning the phone to her ear.

Koenma thought that perhaps the other person was Botan and smirked. He had her now.

"Is Botan there?" He couldn't help but feel somewhat triumphant.

Keiko seemed somewhat surprised by this question, "Well, no. she went to see Kurama a hour ago. She hasn't come back yet.

Koenma sighed irately. _Drat._ "Alright, I'll try Kurama's."

The line went dead and Keiko hung the phone up and looked at the other two occupants of the room.

Hiei was at present leaning against the wall with his arms folded, looking rather indifferent. Yusuke, who'd just arrived a little bit after Botan's departure, sat at the kitchen table scarfing down his ration of French toast.

"So, what'd Koenma want?" Yusuke asked, his mouth still full.

Keiko shrugged, "He wanted to talk to Botan."

Yusuke nodded and swallowed the remainder of the food in his mouth, then took his fork and cut a large portion of the toast off before promptly sticking the fork's prongs into the newly separated mass. He lifted his fork and as he spoke motioned with it, "What is Botan doing at Kurama's?"

Keiko jumped a little at his query, "Oh, they're probably just talking."

Hiei snorted from his corner.

Yusuke looked from Keiko to Hiei, stuck the bit of food in his mouth, and continued talking, "Okay, so what's going on here?"

Keiko waved her hands defensively, "Nothing, nothing!"

It was Yusuke's turn to snort, "Sure..."

Keiko feigned hurt, "Yusuke Urameshi, do you honestly think I'd keep anything from you?"

Yusuke grinned apologetically before returning to his breakfast. Having only one bite left he finished it off quickly. Oddly enough, the minute he swallowed the phone rang again.

Keiko answered, "Hello?"

"I just called Kurama's! There's no one home!" Koenma fumed. Keiko held the phone away from her ear in order to save her eardrums from the stressed out Rekai Prince.

After he'd vented enough steam Keiko answered, "Well...Botan said something about going to the park."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!?"

Keiko squeaked fearfully and muttered a few apologies.

~*~*~*~*~

Koenma stepped out into the snow covered park in his adolescent form, wrapped securely in a princely coat and scarf. George stood behind him, well hidden in a large overcoat and hat.

Koenma's eyes searched the vicinity for any signs of his blue-haired ferry girl, or the fox-demon. Neither was found and the nerves in the teenager's mind were on edge. If Botan didn't show up soon, Rekai help him, he'd fire her. Oh, yes! He'd quite enjoy that after all the stress she'd caused him as of late.

But then she'd probably cry...Then he'd feel sorry for her...And then he'd hire her back again. Koenma made a face to himself. Confounded women.

A strange scent wafted to his nose. Koenma stopped his ranting and looked about him. Searching for where the scent was strongest. The peculiar aroma told him he'd smelt it before. It was a fleeting familiarity that pulled and tugged at some repressed memory. The swirling mixture of snowdrops and lemons.

His mouth dropped so far down his pacifier teetered on his bottom lip.

__

Arisu.

~*~*~*~*~

Botan awoke, every single cell in her body numb with cold. She made it her goal to sit up. Her body shivering and pain searing through her head and arms she gradually lifted her upper torso from the ground and she got a good look at what she'd been sleeping on.

No wonder she's been so cold. The floor was nothing but ice. A thick cloud of her own breath drifted from her mouth. Her arms were starting to give. Laying back down on a sheet of ice not being number one on the list of things she really wanted to do, Botan pushed herself against the ice and flung herself backwards onto her bottom.

Luckily her rump was far too numb to feel the impact of the ice, but it did leave her with an unpleasant jolt. Her primary object immediately became warmth. She pulled her knees to her chest and folded her arms around them, rubbing them furiously.

It was as she did this, Botan noticed she was no longer wearing her sweatshirt. And upon further inspection found that her jeans had been replaced as well. Her familiar apparel had been exchanged with a luxuriantly adorned white kimono. Made of the finest white silk, with loops of gold thread encircling diamonds that dotted the whole of the garment.

She gaped in wonder, discovering bits of jewelry had been added everywhere. Diamond earnings clung to her earlobes, bracelets and rings covered her hands. A diamond choker had replaced her treasured peony necklace. She found this greatly distressing and would have began searching frantically for it had she had the power to move. And to top it all off was a diamond tiara balanced upon her head.

Botan groaned as she forced herself to turn around in search of signs of life. She found no one. Not a single soul. Instead her attention became drawn to a strange mirror in the center of the room.

It wasn't an ordinary mirror. It's glass didn't reflect Botan's bemused reflection, although it clearly pictured the deity.

It depicted Botan atop her oar, flying through the sky her pink kimono flapping around her. Botan gasped. It was showing her the time she'd first met Yusuke. Intrigued, Botan leaned forward for a closer look. The mirror flickered, the image changing. There was Botan again. Only this time she wore a different outfit and was swinging a bat wildly at the offending humans. It was the time when the makai flies had possessed the city! Before she could register it completely in her mind the mirror flickered again. There she was cheering the team on the sidelines of the dark tournament.

All at once the mirror skipped a considerable amount of time and portrayed the strange snow beast attacking them at the park. But in an instant the mirror changed and there the deity was standing under the mistletoe with Kurama. Botan wanted this image to stay, relishing the site of Kurama leaning toward her but never the less, the picture changed again. This time the picture remained there.

Framed in the mirror's glass was Botan and Hakuma at the coffee shop. 

__

Hakuma! He was the reason why she was here! He'd brought her here, hadn't he? He'd brought the monster! He'd done all this! But...

What had he done with Kurama?

~*~*~*~*~

No doubt, this chapter has left you with a bunch of questions. And since I'm such a nice author, I'll ask them for you!

Where does Koenma know Arisu from?

You'll find that one out.

Who changed Botan's outfit?

I'll give you one guess.

What happened to Botan's necklace?

Um...Same thing that happened to the rest of her clothes.

Hey! That's the same mirror from Chapter 4!

That's not a question, but yes, it is.

Well, anyway, I hope to update a whole lot sooner next time. I'm finally getting onto the swing of things. Good job, Tangerine, It only took you thirteen chapters. ^_^;;; But I've finally got the balance of school and such so I've got plenty more free time! WOOT! 

And it just so happened that today I was thinking about the sequel. (And whether I'd actually do one.) If I were to do one it pretty much be Hiei/Keiko with sort of Botan/Kurama on the side. But the question is: Should I really do one? Or would it be like shooting a horse that's already dead? Erm...That was an interesting simile. Moving on...

I shall begin writing Chapter 14 right....NOW!


	14. We've Got Trouble

~*~*~*~*~Chapter 14~*~*~*~*~

Yusuke pressed the power button and the television sprang to life.

Garbage. With a flick of his wrist the channel changed. 

More garbage.

He changed it again

Garbage.

Garbage.

More garbage!

There was nothing on!

In a fit of frustration Yusuke through the remote across the room and folded his arms crossly. Stupid TV. 

Keiko sighed and picked up the remote from where it had fallen and tapped in the number for the cooking channel. A man basting a turkey immediately appeared on the screen.

Yusuke's mouth fell open in disbelief. He looked at Keiko, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Kidding you? About what?" Keiko asked innocently.

"I'm not watching a cooking show!" Yusuke demanded.

Keiko frowned and then shrugged, "You said yourself there was nothing on."

"At least nothing's better than this!" Yusuke stood up, gesturing toward the television.

Keiko stood up as well, "If you don't like it, go watch TV at your house!"

Yusuke opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. Not wanting to admit she's one their little argument he folded his arms curtly and fell back onto the couch, fixing his eyes stubbornly on the screen. At this Keiko gave a superior sounding scoff and plopped down next to him. She took the small box that she had been holding and opened it.

Yusuke fixed it in a attentive stare, "What's that?"

Keiko smiled and flapped a bundle of 3x5 cards in in the air, "They're my recipe cards. I thought I'd organize them."

Yusuke gaped, "How many recipes do you have?" It looked like quite a few. The pile of cards had to be an inch high.

"A hundred or so-"

"A HUNDRED OR SO!"

Keiko seemed unfazed by the teen's outburst, "Well I watch this channel quite a lot. And I got a few from my mother."

Yusuke settled back down, "Sheesh, Keiko, why don't you just open a restaurant or something?"

Keiko put up a finger, signally she was going to make a point, "I plan to run the family restaurant one day!"

Yusuke sighed and tried to seem interested in how to baste a turkey. It wasn't working. Before long he was bored out of his mind, until at last he fell into a deep slumber, his head leaned back and mouth wide open. At the sound of Yusuke's snores Keiko looked up from her recipe cards. She smiled at the sight of the sleeping teen and pecked him lightly on the cheek before returning to her organizing.

At present, Hiei was sitting on a barstool, the heat from the coffee cup warming his hands. He'd watched the entire exchange between Keiko and Yusuke with a slight smirk. How these mortals amused him. But something was beginning to worry him. What it was exactly he did not know. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but something nagged incessantly at the back of his mind.

Hiei shook his head, as though trying to jar the thought loose and took a sip from his coffee.

It was then Koenma decided to appear in the room, "Looks like we've got trouble."

Keiko switched the TV off and Yusuke came awake with a start. Rubbing his eyes he half said, half mumbled, "Wha? What is it?"

"Botan and Kurama have been kidnapped."

Keiko and Yusuke sprang to their feet, a sense of urgency about them. Hiei's attention was full on Koenma.

"WHAT!?!?!"

"But how could anyone kidnap Kurama?" Yusuke snapped.

Koenma folded his arms and closed his eyes thoughtfully, "I don't know. Come with me."

~*~*~*~*~

The first thing Koenma did when he arrived at Rekai was change back into his toddler self and scamper over to his desk. Yusuke and Keiko followed him with Hiei bringing up the rear. Koenma sat down in his chair and found his remote in the top desk drawer. He aimed it at the screen against the wall and clicked.

The screen flickered to life and A mug shot of a woman was magnified on the screen.

"Arisu." said Koenma, plainly.

Yusuke looked at the screen and didn't seem impressed, "Who's the broad?"

Koenma glared, "She's more than a "broad", Yusuke. She's one of the most notorious demons in the Makai."

Keiko shivered and became even more worried.

"I believe she may have something to do with Botan and Kurama's disappearance."

"How do you know they've disappeared?"

"Botan was supposed to report to me today and since you told me that she was Kurama I can only assume he was taken too."

Keiko looked close to tears with worry, "But what would they want with her!"

Koenma shook his head sadly. After a moments reflection he coughed politely and turned back to the screen, "The thing is she never works alone. Her crime in partner is Hakuma, her brother."

Hiei and Keiko blanched, staring up at the O, so familiar face on the screen. 

"I have a theory that they have taken them to their palace in the Makai. Gather up your team, Yusuke, and I will transport you there."

Yusuke nodded, a sense of duty setting on his shoulders, "Okay. One thing though..."

Koenma looked at him quizzically.

"How'd you know it was Arisu?"

Koenma looked startled for a moment but then folded his arms and held his nose in the air, haughtily, "I'm the Prince of Rekai, its my job to know. Now hurry up! Botan and Kurama's life hang in the balance!"

Yusuke ran out. As Keiko left she caught Hiei's eye and mouthed something to him. Hiei merely nodded and followed Yusuke out.

~*~*~*~*~

I think I'm losing interest in this. I wish I weren't. But I am. I need something to reenergize my interest. Think! Think! Ah well...I'll think of something. 

I'd like to point out that I'VE GOT 300 REVIEWS!!

Thank you.


	15. Winter Wonderland

~*~*~*~*~Chapter 15~*~*~*~*~

Kurama was falling...

Falling...

Falling farther and farther into the depths of oblivion. Unfathomable depths.

It was so cold. His blood seemed to be frozen inside his veins. He could scarcely breathe. Nay, he couldn't breathe at all. Either there was no air here at all, or his lungs refused to accept it.

Where was he?

__

He choked, he gasped, he throttled about him searching for the slightest hint of the sweet necessity that eluded his so. 

He couldn't breathe.

__

His fingers wrapped around his throat, trying to force himself to breathe. His eyes rolled back, the whites of them dominant. 

Breathe! Breathe! Please!

__

There was a ground. Solid, though invisible. He fell upon it and thrashed pathetically around him. His red hair was disheveled and matted to his scalp with sweat. His clothes were drenched in the salt water he secreted. He needed to breathe. He was going to die. He needed to...

No, Kurama! Remain calm.

__

Calm...He must remain calm...Stop this._ His hands dropped from his throat and he fell silent. His body stopped thrashing and relaxed. It took every single piece of his free will to keep this way. To resist the deep-set desire to breathe. To feel cool, sweet air in his lungs._

It was involuntary, the will to breathe. The minute you exited your mother's womb and tasted that first lungful of delectable air, you hungered for more. You kept breathing, until it became second-nature. You no longer had to tell yourself to breathe, you just did. Because you needed it. It was an addiction.

He must forget...Stop it!

__

He closed his eyes. Hoping to relax himself further. Forget there was no air. To forget he was in a black oblivion.

Stop it!

__

The inside of his eyelids was black as well. When he left this place, he'd learn to appreciate color. To relish, how perfectly green the grass was. To appreciate the wonderful color blue the sky was.

Blue...

__

Blue, like Botan's hair. Yes, he'd appreciate that color far more now. Even more then he had before.

Botan...

__

What had happened to her? How would she feel after he never showed up at the park? How was he going to get out of here? How was he going to see her again?

Stop it!

__

It was cold...He was shivering. He felt himself doing so. His spine shuddered. He needed to get out.

But how.....?

~*~*~*~*~

Yusuke looked at the castle with an apprehensive feeling. It didn't feel right. What sort of power could possibly capture Kurama. He'd seen Kurama fight. He'd seen him kill. Kurama was very powerful. So was this Hakuma even more powerful that Kurama?

"Brr! Its freezing!" Kuwabara's voice trembled as he spoke.

"Well, you should've worn a jacket, Baka." Hiei answered with a frost that matched the landscape.

Kuwabara glared, his arms hugging his body. He decided to do something rare and not retort. Instead he looked around him. Everything was a horrible blanket of white. The only slight resemblance of color was the sky, which was gray. The most prominent thing in this snow-covered wasteland was the castle. Tall and looming...and white.

"It's like that song...You know... "Walking in a Winter Wonderland." Kuwabara pointed out, "Only this is like an evil Wonderland."

Hiei looked at him as though he'd never seen such stupidity, "What are you rambling about?"

"The song! You know!" And striking a pose he sang, (and not very well.) "Sleigh bells ring! Are you listening? In the lane! Snow is glistening! A beautiful sight! We're so happy tonight! Walking in a winter wonder-"

"Quiet! Both of you!"

Kuwabara seemed hurt at Yusuke interrupting his serenade but stopped obediently. Hiei gave Yusuke his signature glare.

Yusuke glanced around him and signaled to his team to advance forward and lead them through the imposing front doors. (Which of course were white.)

The inside was disappointing. It was white, just like the outside. There was however one small difference. Instead of endless bounds of white there was a restricted boundary to all the blankness. It stopped at the four, white walls.

"In the meadow we can build a snowman..."Kuwabara sang under his breath only to shushed once again by Yusuke.

"There's a door." Yusuke pointed ahead at a small (white) door on the south wall.

They exited the room and went into the next one.

"Whoa!" Kuwabara promptly exclaimed as he entered the room.

At there feet was a staircase. The staircase led into one of the most elaborate mazes either of the three had ever seen in their life.

"Its a maze!"

Hiei snorted, "Thank you for that deep insight, Kuwabara."

~*~*~*~*~

Botan backed up against the far wall, the energy in her legs suddenly regained at the sight of the advancing Hakuma.

Hakuma feigned hurt, "Why are you doing this, Botan? Don't you like me?"

Botan stared at him shocked, "You kidnapped me!"

Hakuma tittered, "You're hardly a kid."

The blue-haired deity put on a brave face, "What happened to Kurama?"

"He's been taken care of."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?"

Hakuma grabbed her jaw forcing her to see him, to look him in the eye, "Don't be so feisty, all is well. Come then. I'll show you to your room."

~*~*~*~*~

MUHAHAHA. And you guys thought I'd lost interest! Well, I had there for awhile but using my unfailing techniques I rekindled and wrote like a mad chicken! In other words, I changed my pen name and reread my YYH manga. Speaking of pen names you'll have noticed its changed again. I've changed it approximately three times since I last updated and I hope to stay with this one for a while.

On a side note: What the heck is with Teen Titans? I like the show and everything but EGAD! Now, when I heard that Americans were taking a shot and recreating Japanese anime I was thrilled. A show that I didn't have to worry about silly symbols and stuff I don't understand. 

I was watching Rurouni Kenshin and through most of the fight with Sojiro they'd flash to Japanese characters. Like I know what they mean! They could at least but a translation for it somewhere or.. something....

But anyway, I watched the first episode with delight and decided I liked it. A far cry from anime but I was happy with the knowledge that the show I was watching was not dubbed. A couple episodes late I sat down prepared to watch another glorious show and when the theme song came on it was in Japanese! At first I thought I was hearing things but it happened again in another episode! They seems to alternate between the English and Japanese version. And in the episode where Robin poses as Red X to capture Slade there was a advertisement in the background. AND IT WAS IN JAPANESE! GAH! Then in the most recent episode with Mad Mod there was this big chase scene and what language was the music in? 

Would these people make up their minds? If I show is AMERICAN the advertisements and music should be AMERICAN as well.

Sorry for that rant. I just was confused. But wait! There's more!

Not only have I written this chapter but I have written two MORE chapters as well. But why am I not updating them now? Good question! Here's your answer: I wrote the two chapters in advance to give me a little time to relax before I have to update again. So , the rest of the chapters should be updated in four-day intervals. Today's Monday, so expect the next chapter Thursday. And that gives me eight days to write chapter eighteen! YAY!


	16. A MAZE ing

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 16 ~*~*~*~*~

Yusuke looked around him, the situation becoming more desperate each time he looked. As Kuwabara had so perceptibly stated, it was a maze. Yusuke had seen mazes before. In Science class. The little mouse would wind its way through the twisting corridors frantically searching for the cheese at the end. If he closed his eyes he could see the mouse, twisting around as it reached a dead end, turning down corridors. 

He was like that mouse now.

Only instead of plywood, his walls were made of ice. And there was no delectable, tasty treat at the end of his maze, but his friends. And quite possibly his friends' fate.

Now he could truly sympathize with the poor rodent.

Kuwabara's thought weren't quite as deep. Though filled with the same concern. He stared as the path it slowly vanished into darkness. He didn't want to go there, who knows what lurked in the darkness. A trap, a demon, a pit filled with Siberian tigers. He shivered partly at the thought of being eaten alive by a tiger and partly because of the cold.

He didn't like mazes. His kindergarten teacher loved to give out those things. He'd often have to help Jimmy find his way through the maze to his home. He had them so often it made him sick to think about doing it again. Only it was worse this time. He didn't have a bird's-eye-view of the maze. He was Jimmy. Where was his house?

Hiei's expression was as stoic as ever. He stared impassively at the impending darkness before him. Waiting for a signal from the leader.

His awaited signal came as Yusuke advanced forwarded muttering, "Come on."

Kuwabara gulped, if he remembered right, in some of the old mazes, if you took a wrong turn there usually was something nasty waiting for you. A monster, or in Jimmy's case, the next door neighbor's ravenous pit bull.

"You know, if Kurama were here he'd use his smarts to get us through this easy."

"Smarts? Like the thing you have none of?" Hiei mocked with a smirk.

"Hey!" Kuwabara countered, "I'll have you know I'm plenty smart! I once got a 53%, you know!"

"That's quite an accomplishment," Hiei answered.

Kuwabara failed to catch the sarcasm and continued to look smug.

Suddenly, Yusuke stopped. Kuwabara, in his blind smugness, nearly bumped into Yusuke. At the last moment he managed to screech to a halt.

"Whoa! Why'd you stop?"

"We've reached a fork in the road."

"What? Where?"

"Right in front of us, you doofus!"

Yusuke gestured in front of him pointedly.

"So," Kuwabara said after assessing the fork, "Which way do we go?"

As though Hiei had an uncanny sense of direction, both teens turned to him. Hiei merely glared at them.

After a few minutes of the little staring contest Yusuke decided it was time to say something, "Er....Hiei can't you use your Jagan eye to see through the walls or something?"

Hiei's expression never changed, "Yes."

"Well, could you-"

"I already have."

Kuwabara didn't seem to like this, "What! Why didn't you say so?"

"It was interesting to see you two panic," Hiei answered before turning down the left path.

Kuwabara was visibly shaking with rage. It took every ounce of self control not to go and pound the little koorime into the ground. Well, that and the fact he didn't stand a chance of accomplishing such and act. Yusuke took off after Hiei and Kuwabara followed, still plotting the demon's demise.

~*~*~*~*~

Hakuma's grip on her arm was as strong as iron. He pulled her down the hall by her fore arm and no matter how much the deity struggled she could no wrench free. Botan squirmed and wriggled in his grip, but Hakuma continued to face forward in some sort of twisted determination.

Botan knew what ever was coming next wasn't good. She hoped and prayed that it wasn't what she thought it was. All she knew is that she was being shown to her room. What was to be done when she got there was what worried her so. Thoughts filled her head. Panicked seized her heart. It thumped against her chest at a mile a minute. Beads of sweat fueled by her anxiety presented themselves on her forehead. 

Hakuma turned down a sharp corner, wrenching Botan after him. The hallway was long and expansive. Made completely of ice. Icicles hung from the roof and protruded from the walls. Though Botan had barely time to register any of this as the took off down a tributary hallway. The hallway had an end, however. At its end was a door. Hakuma easily lifted the heavy latch with on hand and revealed what was inside.

Botan had been expecting to see a room, but instead it was mere staircase, winding upward. He lead her up it. 

There was no door at the end of the staircase. Instead it stopped at the last step and lead into a small compartment of sorts. In the compartment was only one thing. A single wooden ladder. The ladder lead up into a gap in the ceiling. 

Here Hakuma pushed her in front of him. And forced her to the ladder. Botan could only assume she was meant to climb it. She scurried up the ladder rungs and climbed through the square gap.

Through the gap was her room. Apparently the uppermost room in a tower. She'd just entered it through a trap door, which had been conveniently left open. The small door that would be used to close it was lying on the floor next to the gap attached to it by two very old, iron hinges. 

The room itself was none to impressive. A small, circular room with a single window facing west. The window was far to small to do anything with, except perhaps stick your head out of it. In the center of the room was a bed. It looked large and comfortable, adorned with a white quilt trimmed in lace and diamonds. 

Botan gulped as she heard Hakuma slowly climb the ladder.

Hakuma didn't enter the room however, he stood on the ladder's last rung and spoke, "I hope you find your arrangements comfortable."

Botan didn't answer. She couldn't speak.

"I hope you do. As they will be yours for quite sometime."

Botan's terrified gaze was still fixedly ahead of her.

"Tomorrow we will wed. I wanted to do it tonight but unfortunately we have some pesky intruders in the castle. Once they are disposed of (which shouldn't take long) I will begin our wedding arrangements. And you, my dear, will be a queen."

Botan was in a state of shock. It didn't even realize it has Hakuma picked up her hand and kissed the palm tenderly. 

"Until tomorrow, my love." And he closed the trapped door behind him as he left. It wasn't until she heard the door lock did Botan wake from her trance.

~*~*~*~*~

__

It hit him suddenly. 

A sudden bout of pain.

It ripped through him like a knife through hot butter. Searing away at his skin. His nerve endings were screaming. It was like a doll, being torn apart. The stuffing angrily ripped out in a state of unbridled fury. It ripped though his mind. Tearing it apart. Every once of his thoughts, feelings, and aspirations torn out of him like the stuffing.

They were scattered. Ripped. Shredded. Torn pieces of paper. He brought his hands to ears and covered them with all his might. There was no sound. But he still heard. He heard the sound of screams. Screams he could not distinguish or hear. But he knew it was Botan.

Botan was screaming.

Botan! _He mouthed the angelic name but it never got past his lips. No air. No sound_

He'd fear being blind next but there was nothing to see. Nothing but inevitable, consuming darkness.

The screaming continued. Filling his covered ears. Pulling at them. Beckoning him.

Kurama, help me! _She was screaming. But he couldn't. How could he help her when he himself was helpless? How? _

Tears sprang to his eyes and trickled from them. Falling to the ground and echoing through a soundless world.

~*~*~*~*~

Hiei lead the expedition from then on. Yusuke resuming a steady post directly behind him and Kuwabara shivering in the back.

"I cannot wait to get out of here," Kuwabara reminded the troop for the umpteenth time.

"We know Kuwabara..." Yusuke muttered flatly.

"Sheesh. I was just trying to make conversation," the red-head teen said, genuinely hurt.

Yusuke finally snapped. He'd heard Kuwabara say the same thing over and over again for the past hour that he could mouth the words along with him.

"Would you just shut up! We know you cannot wait to get out of here! We know you're just trying to make conversation! You don't need to keep telling us! WE KNOW!"

Kuwabara was on the attack, "Hey! Now!"

Yusuke was so sick of the carrot-topped ningen that he pulled back is fist with preparation for one of his hardest punches ever. When he released the aforementioned fist he hoped to at least break is jaw. But breaking the nose would be just as well. Hiei chose to speak at that moment. And by some miracle the sound of his calm monotonous voice was enough for Yusuke to forget his anger. Everyone knew that if Hiei said something it was most likely important.

"If you're done with your childish antics, I suggest you lower your voice and move a little to the left."

"Why do you mean, 'move to the left?'" Yusuke asked but did it anyway. And despite of his vast hatred for the spiky-haired koorime, Kuwabara did so as well.

All at once a gigantic icicle broke off from the ceiling and came crashing down, piercing the floor they'd just been standing on moments before. 

Yusuke and Kuwabara gave a startled yell and fell back. They looked from the icicle to Hiei, dumbfounded beyond belief.

"Hiei! You saved my life!" Yusuke gaped.

"Hn."

"Hey! Shorty! Wait up!" Kuwabara pleaded as he got up and ran to meet him. After he got there he slung his arm around Hiei's shoulders (Hiei gave him a menacing glare) and started singing his praises.

"Whoa! Who'd a thunk it? And I thought you hated me, you little three-eyed freak," The insults were spoken with affection. A very strange way Kuwabara had of expressing himself. And he proceeded to give the fire demon a noogie.

"Back away if you want to keep your arm."

"Huh?" said Kuwabara. But then a thought occurred to him and he merely back off.

Hiei regained his composure and continued on. 

After Hiei was well out of earshot Kuwabara whispered to Yusuke, "I think he's starting to warm up to me."

"Sure..."

~*~*~*~*~

It's Thursday and as promised I updated! Wow! I'm so nice.

And a to reply to all those wonderful reviewers who asked questions:

****

Cheeto: Probably not, as I am not yet out of high school...

****

Lavender Gaia: I'm actually really fond of the anime. Though this may because I have never seen the subbed version or read the manga. Ah, ignorance is bliss. ^_^

And to all you other (fantastic) reviewers: Thank you! You guys are my sunshine on a cloudy day. Yes, that was straight out of "My Girl" but I think applies here.

'Til next time!

__


	17. Brevity is the Soul of Wit

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 17 ~*~*~*~*~

Yusuke yawned and stretched his arms as far as they could go. They'd been walking for hours on end. But it wasn't the walking that was making him tired, O no, it was the immeasurable amount of boredom that had consumed and numbed his mind that did it. Hiei remained steadfast in his decision not to communicate. He merely stared at the empty darkness before them, guiding the way with his Jagan eye. The last he'd spoken it had been a very sharp and to the point "hn".

"Hn." That was Hiei in a nutshell. Apart from "baka," "hn" was perhaps his favorite word. Or at least you'd think so from the vast amount of times he had used it. It was his all purpose answer to everything. Neither "yes" or "no". Had Yusuke been any sort of psychologist-or the type of person who analyzed his friends- he might of though this word was a subtle cry for help. Or perhaps a sign of his unwillingness to make a decision. But being Yusuke, he merely assumed that Hiei was the sort of stand-offish type that hated to talk. To summarize, Hiei was anti-social, and hardly one to consider when you wanted to converse.

And then there was Kuwabara.

That red-headed teen wasn't in the least bit anti-social. If anything he was _too_ social. Sure, you could get him in a conversation easy enough. But the results often had the same effect as a marathon of the children's TV show _Barney_. In other words, Kazuma Kuwabara killed brain cells. 

Though don't let it be said that Kuwabara didn't have a deep side. He was loyal, a fairly good fighter and, above all, someone who'd always stand by you. In some respects he was a tad annoying but at least there was good in him. You just had to stand the bad parts to get to it.

Presently, Kuwabara was the caboose of the troop and was whistling a tune that sounded suspiciously like "Winter Wonderland."

That song was trying his patience. Some time after the icicle had come crashing down, Yusuke had started humming a little snippet of the song. More or less something to distract him from the eerie silence. Soon afterward, he discovered the song had entered his head and refused to leave. Now, no matter what he did, he kept repeating the same line over and over in his head.

__

Walking in a Winter Wonderland....Walking in a Winter Wonderland...Walking in a- It was like a broken record! If only he knew a little more of the it then perhaps he wouldn't find the impertinent song _quite_ so annoying.

At length, Yusuke ventured to break the silence- and the record- with an insight that had been weighing on his mind for the majority of the walk, "You know, I almost wish we _had_ run into a monster. At least it'd be sort of exciting."

Kuwabara was more then happy to help in his silence breaking, "Yeah. This is _so _boring. This maze has got to end soon." Kuwabara probably meant to be make idle chit chat but it came off as whining instead.

Of course, Hiei couldn't stand whining, "If you want excitement so badly, there's an ice dragon waiting down that path there." He pointed down an adjourning path to their right.

Kuwabara took one look down the foreboding path, pictured himself being snapped in two between the ice dragon's teeth, and decidedly declined. There was probably a boss monster at the end of the maze anyway. And it was better to rest up for the, no doubt, trying battle rather than go flouncing of after every monster.

He voiced this, but in a less cowardly and more braggart way. His opinion made Yusuke agree and Hiei scoff with his trademarked "hn." (Which may or may not be a cry for help or a sign of indecision.) 

Then again, perhaps Hiei was just afraid to voice his opinion. Afraid of how others would react to it. Ah, a complex specimen, that Hiei. So filled with inner turmoil and self-doubt that one wonders why he still gets up in the morning. 

"If you must know, we're reaching the end of the maze."

This brought Yusuke and Kuwabara such joy at finally being out of the incessant cycle of boredom that they broke free from their ranks and went rushing pat Hiei, screaming "huzzahs" and "hoorahs" all the way.

Hiei watched after them with a startled expression that his face so rarely featured, and then ran after them. There was no one to see him do so after all.

When Hiei got up with the two-It didn't take long, despite the fact that the teens had much longer legs he still more them matched them for speed- he found Yusuke and Kuwabara in state of shock.

He looked at the thing that had caused this state and had his personality allowed it, would've been in the same state.

Before the group stood a woman. A scantily clad one at that. She was perched in her white and revealing costume atop a small ledge which could be reached be a nearby staircase. 

Though she may have been at a considerable height away from the three but they could clearly tell who this mysterious person was. Her identifiers were her long white-blond hair and her seductive smile.

Indeed, it was the woman they'd clearly seen in the mug shot. 

Arisu.

~*~*~*~*~

Koenma looked around him. There wasn't an ogre in sight. Why would there be? They were all on their lunch break after all. Koenma hadn't wanted to give the ogres a lunch break- or a break of any kind for that matter. Had the Rekai prince had his way the ogres would be working seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, and three hundred and sixty-five days out of the year. Three hundred and sixty-six on leap years of course.

But, unfortunately, the blasted ogre's Union had called for it. So he had to give it to them.

But for once, the toddler hadn't been so furious when the ogres took their leave. In fact he'd been somewhat relieved. It gave him a brief moment out of the day in which he could reflect on the disturbing news he'd been feed not but this afternoon.

__

Arisu.

He hadn't wanted to believe it at first but the scent was undeniable. Lemons and snowdrops. She'd always smelled like that. 

He cast a wary glance about him. Searching for prying eyes. After all seemed to be clear, Koenma bent down and pulled a the bottom drawer of his desk open. The drawer was empty.

Almost empty. One thing dwelled in the drawer.

A picture. And fairly old by the look of it. Koenma transformed into his teenage form so that he wouldn't have to get off his chair to lift the photograph from its wooden prison. 

It was one of his most treasured possessions. But what did the picture hold?

It was a picture of Koenma. His form was that of a teenager as he was now. He hadn't changed in the least. On his arm was a woman. The smiling woman was none other then Arisu.

It pained Koenma to think of what had become of her. From the smiling woman he'd cared so deeply for to the horrible thief in the mug shot.

And it was her brother's doing! She'd gone off to see him. He'd sent word that he'd fallen ill and wished for company. Arisu had been so caring of her twin that she didn't even thought twice before packing and leaving for the castle in the frozen realm of the demon world. 

She'd never come back. Koenma never knew what had passed between her and her brother. What had made her resort to a life of crime. And he never would find out. The next he saw of her was the mug shot.

And what a sad day that had been. 

The prince pushed the memory aside. He didn't want to think of it. Mad with himself and the girl who betrayed his trust, he put the photograph back into the drawer. He rose to his feet and with a pop he was his old toddler-self again. With a fleeting look at the drawer he scampered out of his office and over to the cafeteria. Maybe there was a doughnut or two left.

~*~*~*~*~

The first thing Botan did when she finally snapped out of her trance was cry hysterically. Honestly, what would you have done in her situation? There was no way out the tower. And if there was she'd still be lost in a frozen wasteland. 

She flung herself on the bed and wept into her pillow. Her tears had soaked through it by the time she had finally managed to cry herself to sleep.

Little did she know Hakuma had watched the entire thing from his mirror.

~*~*~*~*~


	18. The Box of Insanity

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 18 ~*~*~*~*~

"Welcome to my brother's castle! I hope you find your visit enjoyable."

The three intrepid heroes struck their best action poses and prepared to fight. With one swift movement Hiei pulled his katana from its sheath. In the blink of an eye his sword was in hand and battle ready. Kuwabara's spirit sword was out as well. Having no real weapon that he could brandish, Yusuke merely charged his spirit gun

Had Kurama been there he probably would have told them their actions were rash. That they should wait and analyze Arisu's attacks and find her weak points. Rushing blindly in to battle was never a good idea. But Kurama wasn't here was he? Which would explain why Yusuke asked the following question:

"What have you done with Kurama and Botan?" It was more of demand then a question, really.

Arisu chuckled. "That's for me to know and you to find out," she mocked childishly.

"Doesn't she get cold in that?" Kuwabara whispered, who was wearing considerably more and his skin had still turned a lovely shade of blue.

Hiei sneered. "She's an ice demon," he said vehemently.

"Oh..."

His temper rising and teeth on edge, Yusuke snapped back, "Listen, Lady! Either you give us Kurama and Botan or we start playing dirty!"

In an attempt to put in his two bits in Kuwabara profusely added, "Yeah!"

Arisu chuckled once more. She was certaintly getting a lot of entertainment today. "Oh! I'm scared now! oh, whatever will poor little ole me do?" the woman asked facetiously. To add to the facade of her utter helplessness she folded her hands in sort of a prayer like way and looked up imploringly.

Yusuke's temper hit the boiling point and then erupted, "SPIRIT GUN!"

A glow orb erupted (much like Yusuke's temper) from the end of his finger and rocketed towered Arisu. The ice demon for a brief moment actually seemed to have a trace of fear. Though, that fear may have been a mere feint for in the next moment it was gone. She pulled back her arm and in a quick sweeping motion flourished it in front of her. All the while screaming, "ARTIC WIND!"

A harsh blast of cold air hit the glowing ball of spirit energy and sent it in the opposite direction. As Yusuke's attack hit the wall and exploded Arisu laughed for the third time in fifteen minutes.

Beaming triumphantly Arisu gloated, "Is that all you have? Really! I expected more!"

Yusuke hid his surprise with a look of fierce determination. What was he going to do know? Kurama was his strategist. Without him, he had no strategy, no plan. It looked like he'd have to come up with his own. He'd done it before, surely he could do it again.

As if Arisu possessed the ability to read minds she said, "Poor little ningen! Without the brains behind the operation how will they every win?" 

Kuwabara was this close to running up the stairs and slicing that dumb ice demon in half. He just needed a little signal from Yusuke. Just a the least little hint from his leader...

But what Arisu said next erased any though of that from his mind. 

"I'll tell you what," she began suddenly, "I'll tell you what happened to your precious Kurama. Its only fair after all!" She cracked a grin.

Yusuke called her a word that really isn't worth repeating.

Satisfied with the hero's reaction she pulled out (from mid air, surprisingly enough) a small wooden chest. She held it in front of her, modeling it. In a funny way it was much like she was the auctioneer and the three were the bidders. 

"What's that dinky thing?" Kuwabara questioned Hiei.

He'd said it loud enough to hear from Arisu's position, however, and she was more then glad to answer him.

"This 'dinky' thing is none other than The Box of Insanity!" 

"More like The Box of Stupidity!" Kuwabara laughed at his own joke.

Yusuke was less then amused, "Look! I don't care if it's The Box of Creampuffs, but what does that have to do with Kurama?"

Arisu shook her head and clicked her tongue, "Poor, poor, little ningen. Doesn't know a demon torture device when he sees one."

"Demon...torture?" Yusuke reflected, stunned. How could that tiny little box torture anyone. Frankly, he'd always thought of torture devices as the things one would find in a medieval dungeon. 

"Yes! Very good! Let me show you how this works!" Arisu seemed almost giddy as she did this, "All I have to do is open this lid and _wham!_ Anything standing in front of it gets sucked in! _Whoosh! _Now, once inside, you'll be exposed to a numerous amount of things. I don't know what things but things. those things will inevitably drive you insane. Hence the name."

Kuwabara hadn't really listened after he noticed Arisu was using her own sound effects. So it came of no surprise he was still confused as to how a box could drive you insane.

"So you're saying Kurama inside that thing?" Yusuke demanded.

"Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" That laughter of hers was getting old fast.

Yusuke would not stand for this. Nobody, but _nobody_, drove his friends insane. "That's it!" With a speed that matched Hiei's and perhaps even surpassed it, the black-haired teen charged up the stairs, all the while charging is fist with spirit energy. Reaching the top the first thing he did was take a flying leap into the air and come crashing down on Arisu. Fist first.

~*~*~*~*~

__

There was no point anymore. To try to escape was...futile...There was no way. His logical mind had assessed every possible way. But there was no way....He couldn't think. Pain had consumed him. It took over him to the point where every thought and feeling felt like being pierced with a nail.

A sharp nail, hammered incessantly into his mind, his heart, his very soul.

Attempts to escape were fruitless, in vain, otiose, abortive...Useless.

__

Why bother with that many adjectives working against you? 

After is initial panic he abstained to remain devoid of motion...To remain tranquil and static. To stare blankly at the caliginous gloom that filled everything. Remain that way for all eternity. There was no other alternative. Anything to stop the nail...And her screaming...

You're pathetic, Shuuichi.

__

What? Who?

I said you're pathetic. you have every means and all my power at you're disposal and yet you resolve to do nothing.

__

Youko...

Indubitably.

__

There is no way out. How can one escape a void?

You can. You're supposed to be intelligent, Shuuichi. Though, perhaps I have misjudged you. If your wit near as matched what I had originally perceived you would have seen past this facade.

__

Facade?

This is all a ruse, Shuuichi. See past your own ignorance and you'll know what I speak of.

__

My own ignorance?

But the Youko didn't answer. He left him with nothing more than a lingering thought. A facade? Did he mean...No...But...

Was this all some sort of dream? All this darkness? All this pain? Was he inflicting it upon himself? Was he both the puppet and the puppeteer? 

Correct.

__

All the darkness around him shattered and the light shone through.

~*~*~*~*~

Yusuke's famous flying attack. Or rather infamous. He only used it in two scenarios. The first being when it was truly advantageous to him in the situation or he'd lost his temper. The latter happening much more than the former.

His fist was inches away from connecting with Arisu's smirking face. And Arisu was mere seconds away from sending another blast of Artic Wind in Yusuke's direction.

But luckily, something happened that prevented both of them from following through with their aforementioned attacks.

The Box of Insanity, still cradled in the crook of Arisu's arm, began to glow. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

0.0 I wonder what's going to happen next? If you want to find out check in next time for the action packed CHAPTER 19! 

Speaking of action packed, I can't help but notice some of you are kind of getting restless with the sudden lack of romance in R & P. I apologize for that but the action has the soul purpose of giving this fic a plot, instead of just mindless fluff. Mark me, there's nothing wrong with mindless fluff. I quite enjoy it. But back when nothing was happening in the fic but Kurama and Botan's relationship developing people started to ask me when we'd get to the action! So, you're just going to have to make do. 

On the plus side though, the action part is supposed to be over by Chapter 22. And because of all the complaints I added a lovely dream sequence at the beginning of Chapter 21. (Which I should probably get around to finishing.) Until then you'll just have to entertain yourself with the lovely Koenma and Arisu subplot the appears a little in Chapter 20 and (when I get around to finishing it.) the end of Chapter 21. So be patient!

And something else was brought to my attention. **Kurama and Botan lover **asked me if I was going to change the rating after the scene with Botan and Hakuma. Well, I didn't really see the need to. After all, all he really did was kiss her palm. But if the implications of what he might have done are enough to change the rating then so be it! Still, I'm still not sure that I should. R & P seems awfully happy being only PG.

It's really up to you guys. ^_^

Thanks a million for all the wonderful reviews! And please do so again! 

- frith 

__

Stay tuned for Chapter 19! _Transcendence! _


	19. Transcendence

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 19 ~*~*~*~*~

The box shook and rattled. All the while emanating with an even brighter light. Yusuke landed neatly and stared dumbly at the glowing box which was no on the ground. The shock of the box gaining a life of its own frightened Arisu so much that she'd abruptly cast it away from her and backed up against the wall. Her expression a mix of shock and fear.

Hiei and Kuwabara watched the spectacle from a considerable distance. But the glow of the box had become so strong that it was clearly seen even from where they were. A smirk snatched Hiei's lips. 

It was Kurama.

And indeed it was. Yusuke could sense his unique signature of spirit energy. But it was mind-boggling at the shear power he was sensing. And it all came from Kurama.

The box splintered. A tiny cracking sound signaled it. The tiny sound was followed by a horribly loud one. Like the sound of bones cracking. Splinters exploded and went whizzing through the air. Yusuke was forced to shield his face with his arm.

And out of the blinding light a shape could be distinguished. At first, it was only a blur of red and fuchsia. Soon it became clear. There was Kurama shining with an inner light that somehow made him one to be feared. His eyes remained closed, until at last he opened them.

The shining pools of emerald reflected the same light as that which surrounded him.

Arisu pressed her back against the wall, hoping some how that it would suck her through. Getting her away from here. "Kurama..." He was powerful. Far more powerful than she could have possibly imagined. Power even to out shine her brother's. He didn't stand a chance against him. _She _didn't stand a chance against him. He was radiating with pure, unbridled power. There wasn't a soul alive who could match such strength. 

.

Kurama stared blankly before him. And then at last recognition seeped into his mind and he turned. His eyes finally focusing on Arisu.

Arisu's breath caught in her throat. No! No! She couldn't stay here! He was going to kill her! He was to powerful! Fear seizing control of her rational mind and legs she sprinted out of there as fast as she could go. She whizzed past the still ambiguous Kurama and the stunned Yusuke. She ran down the stairs as though all of Hell was threatening to consume her whole.

Yusuke wouldn't allow this, "Hiei! Kuwabara! Get her!"

It was a wonder why he even bothered calling to Kuwabara for the carrot-top hadn't taken a step before Hiei had surmounted the distance between him and the ice demon and had her in his grasp. Katana poised at her throat. 

"Don't even think about it."

Arisu gulped and looked close to tears. Defeated, she hung her head.

The glow that Kurama radiated died down into a small glimmer and soon was nothing. It was just normal, smiling Kurama. He looked from Yusuke to Hiei and Kuwabara, all the while smiling pleasantly. He patiently waited for someone to say or do something. 

His patience was relieved by Kuwabara. In the time it took everyone to break from their trance, he had scaled the stair and was the first to greet the conquering hero.

"Whoa, Kurama! Where'd that come from! Heck! You weren't even in your Youko form! That was amazing! What was it like in the box? Hey, do you think you could do that nifty glow-y thing again!"

"Whoa, Kuwabara, give the man some room!" Yusuke admonished, pushing his friend aside.

Hiei stepped forward (with an iron grip on Arisu's wrist.), "Nice to see you back, Kitsune."

Kurama smiled pleasantly. Not bad for a guy that was on the verge of insanity, not moments ago.

"It's good to be back. And may I inquire, where are we?" Kurama asked his tone becoming slightly more serious though still with a blanket of cheer spread over it. He already had perceived a little about his surroundings. But when and how he had got there was still a mystery.

Arisu couldn't understand it. Hadn't the box worked? From what she heard from _The Big Book of Tortures, _the Box of Insanity was supposed to be like having every single thought and feeling torn from you and wrung dry. It was documented that when released from the Box, if the occupant had not already died then he'd either had a complete disintegration of his entire rational being and had become a gibbering idiot or they merely stared of into space and frothed the mouth.

This Kurama wasn't doing either of those things. His speech was perfect and his rationality seemed intact. And it could be seen that he was in no way frothing. So how had he escaped the Box unscathed?. What power did he hold that could make him disinclined to one of the strongest forms of torture known to Demon kind?

Whatever the reason it was bound to be one not in favor if Hakuma. It was indubitable that Kurama wanted his girlfriend back. And with Hakuma standing right in the middle something bad was inevitably going to happen to him. And Hakuma was to pig-headed to simply give up with out a fight. She would cry for the death of her brother later, right now her primary focus was getting out of this blasted fire demon's grip.

"We're in Hakuma's castle!' Kuwabara exclaimed. Ever prompt in delivering his answer first.

"Hakuma's _castle?"_ Kurama restated, unsure that he'd heard him right.

"Yes, apparently that baka was an ice demon. He's kidnapped Botan," Hiei answered. He received a glare from Kuwabara for answering before him.

Hiei smirked slightly but it soon faded as Arisu wriggled in his grip. 

Kurama stared in disbelief. Botan? Kidnapped? Those words in a sentence in that particular order took awhile to sink in. It was like every single thing he knew in loved had been taken from him in the night. Had the screaming really been Botan's? Had she really been calling to him for help?

__

No, Shuuichi! The Box was not real! This_ is reality!_

Kurama shook his head again. The Box had done its job to some extent at least. He found himself constantly wondering what was reality and what was nothing more than a manifested dream. 

He looked back and the girl trying desperately to force herself from Hiei's grip. He stepped in front of her and caught her attention.

"Where is Hakuma?"

Arisu resolved to remain silent. Be he the most powerful thing since sliced bread she would not betray her brother. Her staunch doggedness in this decision was demonstrated by a glare and an upturned nose.

She knew the answer of course. He was probably in the mirror room. And she could guess what he was doing with his precious mirror now. Watching Botan cry up in her room in the high tower. He'd watched Botan nonstop since he'd unwittingly discovered her when he'd sent his snow beast out to terrorize humans in the Ningenki. For some reason he liked that sort of thing.

"He's in the mirror room. And Botan's in the high tower." 

Arisu was forced to double take. How had he known that? Drat! He was probably one of those blasted telepathic demons! 

Hiei gave a superior smirk, "You guessed right."

Kurama took the information in with a steely expression. He turned toward the door and took long confident strides toward it. As he was about to turn the handle he stopped and said over his shoulder, "Yusuke; you, Hiei, and Kuwabara take Arisu to the Rekai. _I'll_ handle Hakuma."

Kuwabara and Yusuke all stuttered the same question, "Wh-wh-what?

Arisu's expression fell considerably at the mention of "Rekai."

Kurama turned to them, an expression of unfathomed fortitude in his eyes. He didn't say anything, just looked directly at Yusuke.

And then it dawned on Yusuke. And with such a sudden revelation his mind was slightly numb with astonishment. Kurama and...Botan? Could it be?

Yusuke bit his lower lip and nodded, "Come on. Let's hand her over to Koenma."

Hiei followed a very fearful Arisu trying desperately to wrench free of his grip.

Kuwabara was still trying to grasp what was going on exactly. Why were they leaving Kurama behind? What the heck was going on? "But! But!"

Yusuke turned back to him, "Come on Kuwabara!"

Kuwabara stuttered a moment more before sighing resignedly, "Fine..."

And the three left with Arisu in custody. Leaving Kurama to endure whatever obstacle that lay before him alone.

And with thoughts of Botan fresh in his mind, Kurama turned the door knob.

~*~*~*~*~

There we are! Chapter 19! 


	20. Through the Open Door

It's the I've-Got-400-Reviews-Jig! Dance with me!!!! 

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 20 ~*~*~*~*~

There were a great many things Arisu would rather be doing right now. She was forming a list of them in her head. It was getting to be a mighty long list. She'd just reached item number thirty and there was still no sign of the end. It would be rather pointless to list all the items on her list but I'll name a few just so you get the general idea. 

At this moment Arisu would rather be:

1) On a beach surrounded by considerably good-looking men

2) Aforementioned men rubbing lotion all over her body

3) Disneyland

4)A Day Spa

5)An all expenses paid trip to Spain

There were twenty five more items and as I said before the list was growing fast. In fact, at this moment she'd just past forty and was working on the goal of fifty. Now if you read through the entire list (That's all forty six items, mind you.) there isn't a single chance you'll find "coming face-to-face with my old boyfriend after I betrayed him."

I'm sure you can imagine why.

As you imagine this you'll also be able to understand why it was a top priority to release herself from the fire demon's grasp and run as far away as humanly possible. But this had just about as much of a likely hood of coming true as being on a beach did.

But you had to admire Arisu's persistence. As well as Hiei's patience. For quite some time Hiei had kept his silence. Pointedly ignoring Arisu's futile escape attempts from his iron grip. But none the less, the koorime's patience only went so far. And Arisu had reached the end of it.

As Arisu had taken to trying to peel Hiei's fingers one by one from her arm, he abruptly snapped and turned on her. 

"If you don't stop doing that, I'll turn you around and drag you to Rekai by your ankles!" 

Arisu gasped and made an attempt to hide some of her fears with a sort of nervous laughter. The threat did its job though, no more escape attempts were made on Arisu's part.

Up ahead, Yusuke was having a time sorting out his own thoughts. He knew what he had seen. He knew very well the signs. Having experienced quite a lot of them on Keiko's behalf. (A fact he had never admitted to anyone.) But the thought of Kurama and Botan being anything other then just Kurama and Botan was so surreal, so strange, that Yusuke was still unable to grasp it.

But then again, was it really that surreal? They were both single, both attractive, and they were actually around the same age. And their personalities didn't conflict, as a plus. In fact, they meshed together perfectly. He could very easily see the two of them together.

But it was still very strange to think of two of his most trusted friends as an item. No longer just Kurama and Botan but Kurama _and _Botan.

And what if it went even further? Taken , Botan Minamino had a very nice ring to it, but still...The two of them together? Yusuke was surprised to find how easily he could picture the two them married.

But what if he was wrong about the while thing? What if Kurama had merely wanted revenge on Hakuma and rescuing Botan was just something that came along with the package?

No...

He thought back to the snow beast. How firmly Kurama was set upon carrying Botan. Had he been in love with her even then? And it was the same look of steadfast determination. He'd given it to him twice, once when Kurama had aptly refused Yusuke's offer to carry Botan and then just now, when he'd told him that he was going on alone.

So the signs were all there. The pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly to together.

But there was something that baffled him still. Did Botan return Kurama's feelings? Frankly, he couldn't tell. He didn't know the signs a girl showed when in love. He thought of comparing Botan and Keiko's actions but he simply couldn't do it. He didn't spend enough time with Botan to compare her actions with anyone. The last he'd seen her was at the Christmas party and he'd been to busy arguing with Keiko to notice her.

He wanted to ponder on this sometime but Kuwabara's voice answered the fray of his thoughts, "I'd say that fight was pretty anticlimactic." 

Both Hiei and Yusuke looked up, stunned. They hadn't been aware he knew such a long word.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked after recovering from the initial shock.

Kuwabara scratched his head thoughtfully, "Well, I mean we went all the way out to the Makai and all we got to do when we got there was find our way through a stupid maze then take this chick to Rekai." He pointed at Arisu, who was glaring at him, irately. She didn't much appreciate being called a "chick."

"And what was with Kurama anyway?" Kuwabara continued on, not noticing, "I mean why did he want to take care of Hakuma so bad?"

Hiei shook his head disbelievingly, "You really are dense, aren't you?"

Kuwabara was awoken from his thoughtfully state abruptly and he turned on Hiei, "Hey! What did you say?"

Hiei smirked and replied with a witty comeback, "Are you deaf as well as dumb?"

"I am not dumb! Just because I can't tell what's going on in other people's mind doesn't mean I'm not smart, Three-Eyes!" To prove his point he signaled toward his forehead, showing he had no Jagan eye, like certain people.

Hiei blinked, Kuwabara had a point. God, help us. Kuwabara had a point. So he quickly diverted the subject so the not-so-bright teen wouldn't get a chance to grasp that.

"We're here," Hiei said gruffly. 

Indeed, somehow during the argument they'd arrived at the doors to Koenma's office.

Arisu stared at the doors. A deep seated dread stirring in her stomach. 

Koenma...

~*~*~*~*~

Kurama turned the door knob and entered the adjoining room.

It was a staircase.

Kurama didn't hesitate in climbing the stairs. He merely bolted up them, reaching an unfeasible speed. There was no time to lose. The screams, though he had imagined them, seemed so real. They echoed continuously through his mind. The fuel driving him onward and upward. To incomprehensible obstacles and staggering odds.

The screams fueled him. But it wasn't the screams themselves. It was the care. The deep, and profound care he felt for Botan and her well-being. He _cared_ if she was in danger.He _cared_ if something happened to her. He_ cared _that she was alright. And if need be, he'd do anything to make sure she was well. No matter the cost. All this because he _cared _about her.

The stair case ended and it brought him to a corridor. The corridor was large and impressive. The walls sparkled with ice and diamonds. White banners clung to the walls. At the end of the hallway was a pair of double doors. Large majestic doors, they rivaled the ones at the entrance. The towered over the corridor, imposing their magnitude upon Kurama.

It assured him of what was behind the doors. There was no doubt. He knew the vanity Hakuma possessed would instigate him to display his importance with the grandeur of these double doors. He conquered the length of the room in a quick sprint and was at the doors, a hand gripping the door knob. 

It was care that made him turn the door knob. It was care that made him fling the door open.

~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, Yusuke turned the door knob to an equally impressive door. The minute the door opened they group was hit with a tremendous wave of sound. Bombardments of babbling ogres hit their ears.

They walked in and entered the throng of workers. The ogres didn't so much as notice them. One particular one crashed into Kuwabara nearly sending him to the floor and he merely raced on, without even muttering an apology.

"Uhg..." Kuwabara muttered after regaining his balance, "I hate coming here."

Yusuke just narrowly missed being knocked down by an ogre carrying a stack of papers. Yusuke would have to agree. He had better things to do then be bulldozed down by a bunch of busy ogres.

A very familiar voice presented itself to the group's ear. It seemed strange that a single voice could be distinguished from the multitude. Even so, it was as clear as a bell.

"Ogre! How dare you eat the last muffin!"

And the second voice wasn't quite as distinct, "Sorry, Koenma-sama."

They didn't need directions to find where the voice had come from. For the first voice suddenly raised an octave and was even clearer to be heard. The first voice proceeded to threaten to dock the second voice's pay and the second voice pleaded that the first voice would forgive him and that he'd go to the bakery at this very moment and have the baker whip up a fresh batch of muffins. The first voice was satisfied.

"Okay, but make sure they're blueberry muffins," said Koenma with a wave of his hand to dismiss the groveling ogre.

"O, thank you! You won't be sorry!" And with that George bowed deeply and scampered off to the bakery to fulfill his promise.

It was then that the toddler happened to notice Yusuke. He either didn't see the others or chose not to acknowledge their presence. 

"Oh, Yusuke. What are you doing back so soon?" It was odd to see a toddler take such an authoritative tone. But this was the prince of the Rekai after all.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders, "Kurama decided he wanted to take care of Hakuma himself. So we came back here. We got his sister though."

He jabbed his thumb behind him, where a very livid Hiei was holding a very pale Arisu.

For a brief moment Koenma and Arisu's eyes met. Arisu swallowed as he stared out her. She half expected him to yell at her. To reprimand her for all the horrible things she'd done. To bombard her with questions she could never in a million years answer. And at the head of all these questions the dreaded, "why did you leave me?" But Koenma didn't do any of those things. 

"Very good, Yusuke. OGRES!" Koenma hollered and immediately two green ogres stood at attention.

"Yes, Koenma-sama!" They cried in unison.

"Take her away." He pointed at Arisu. The two ogres grabbed Arisu by each arm and pulled her toward an adjoining door. Arisu didn't struggle this time. She merely hung her head with defeat and let them take her. The last thing she did was look over her shoulder at Koenma. Her eyes were filled with everything she'd ever wanted to say to him since her betrayal. Such an imploring look, filled with sorrow, sympathy, remorse, and shame. She wanted his forgiveness. That's what her eyes communicated. They told him that he could turn her away, do with her what he will, but to please tell her that she was forgiven. Clear her conscience.

Koenma made a point to look away.

~*~*~*~*~ 

****

A very happy person- I got your review! And here are your answers!

1) What would happen if a vital character died or was given a new form? 

Well, first you'd hope to God he or she wasn't too vital or you'd never be able to end the blasted thing! Well, you'd be able to end it but not with a very happy ending. Character death is a thing I've never really liked. Mostly because no matter what character you kill you're going to have disappointed fans. If one did die, you'd have to have a chapter dedicated to the mourning of the poor soul. Maybe let the other characters grieve a while. But not too long. Though grieving is all well and good its not very exciting. So have the other characters continue but now they have a new fuel for their quest. Revenge.

The second half of the question: Let's say or dead character came back but was suddenly given a brand new form. Let's say our character (Roy) appeared to our adventurers as a cat. Roy would have to be a talking cat, so he could adequately explain his sudden change of species. Now there should be a reasonable reason he became a cat. Not just Roy liked cats the best. The cat should symbolize something. Let's say Roy was pretty crafty. Now the cat makes sense. But how will the other characters react? Simple! First they are shocked. Followed by doubt. But soon Roy will say or do something that proves he is who he is. Then they adjust accordingly. 

2)What would happen if the characters went back in time and met themselves before they received powers?

Well, let's see....First they could under **no** circumstances tell the characters who they are and what they future will bring. Doing so will create a lovely time paradox. In fact to avoid creating any sort of paradox Roy would have to avoid his past counterpart completely. If he does meet himself he should be in disguise. A clever one too. Roy is, after all, trying to fool himself. Now, why are they in the past? Is some evil-doer trying to kill their past selves? Yhen they should stop the evil doer! But do so discreetly. That's why they have masks, dear.

3) What if the characters were sent into an alternate dimension? 

Well, first things first. Anyone who gets sent back to an alternate universe wants to get sent back. so their priority is to find out how to get back. But we'll get back to that. First thing is: You're in an alternate universe! Make it crazy!!! Let's say Roy's a cat. Make Alternate Roy a dog! Do we where shoes on our feet? Our alternate selves where shoes on their hands! Our my personal favorite: Good normal characters meet evil alternate characters. Now after Roy defeats his evil alternate self, let him go home. That cat's had a rough day.

4) What if the characters were transported into another show? An anime? A movie? 

Being a person who loves examples let's say our Roy was transported into The Lord of the Rings. First we'd have some sort of meeting between Roy & co and Aragorn and his intrepid comrades. First the meeting should be pretty sudden. Let's say Aragorn was walking down the paths of Gondor and _wham!_ Flash of light and Roy comes crashing down on top of him. Roy and Aragorn are, at first, startled. then its time for introductions. Roy, Aragorn. Aragorn, Roy. Now we all know each other, why the heck are they there? A vague explanation alone the lines of, "I have no idea" will suffice. Then we all dedicate the rest of the story to finding a way out of Middle Earth. But in the mean time, wacky hi-jinks! I love those things. Roy can do whatever he wants in this strange new world! He can run of with Arwen, earning him an enemy in Aragorn forever. Or have a rousing conversation with Gimli. The sky is the limit!

5) What if the characters were not human? Demon? Animal? 

Well, as stated before Roy is a cat. But let's use a different example. Molly is a demon. Molly has a lot of psychological problems to solve because of this. If she's a demon, why isn't she evil? Which brings a lot of issues into view. But we'll have her deal with those on her own time. She's a demon! She's got powers! She can use them against evil! But how powerful is she? Molly can't be too powerful. Make it real. She can be defeated. That's why you either want a weaker villain or one Molly and Roy must fight together!

And **Starfire23 **has politely asked me to save Hakuma! Now, this is a democracy. And in a democracy how do we decide anything and everything? We vote!

Donate a review to the Save Hakuma Fund. Click the button! You may be saving a life!

Or...

One review is all it takes to seal Hakuma's impending DOOM! Review for the Kill Hakuma Now Corporation today!!!

That's it for now folks! *grabs Trowa from **Meiko M. **and runs away.*


	21. The Flowers are in Bloom

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 21~*~*~*~*~

__

The garden was in bloom. The roses had bloomed in all their splendor. Flowers erupted everywhere in vibrant colors of pink, red, blue, and purple. Everywhere Botan looked she was drowning in a sea of color. She inclined her head toward the nearest rose. A red one. Its soft velvet petals were radiant, bathed in the sun's golden light. Sunlight filtered through the petal giving them a translucent opulence.

The sweet fragrance of the rose wafted to her nose on a cool breeze. It filled her nostrils and wrapped its delicate bouquet around her mind. How wonderful it smelled. How wonderful it was.

All her troubles seemed to be washed away by the perfume. She could try all she liked but her mind could not bring to surface a single memory of days not spent in this garden, a time when she had not been content. Strange, it didn't so much as startle her when she found her own name was but a vague reminiscence. It took her a moment to even recall what it sounded like.

"Botan..."

That was her name. But it wasn't she who had said it. But though her name was vague the owner of the voice was a clear and present fact. 

"Kurama!"

There he stood. She remembered him. In a million years she could not forget him. His deep, emerald eyes, and the way they shone with depth as the sun hit them. Or his hair, the deep and brusque color of a red rose. He was smiling. A smile that light up his features and surrounded him in a sort of heavenly glow.

She smiled too. A smile wide and gleeful. Exactly what a smile should be. A smile that was the fruit of pure joy. One that came to ones lips as freely and undaunted as spring emerging from under winter's snow. A smile not forced. 

Kurama's arms were open, waiting to receive her. Who was she to disappoint? She ran into them. His warmth encircled her and shielded her from all that was wrong. The cold would never touch her again. That was the promise his warmth pledged.

~*~*~*~*~

Kurama entered the room. It was a rather small circular room. Hardly something you'd expect to see behind those grand doors. It looked like every other room in the castle. Hardly special at all. Walls made of ice and packed snow, as well as the floor and ceiling. Hanging from the ceiling was a chandelier. Though, whoever would be inane enough to make a chandelier out of ice was beyond him. 

But there _was _something special about the room. Something that set this room apart from every other bleak and empty room in this castle. 

It was the fact that this room wasn't empty. In the center of the room was a full-length mirror. 

At first Kurama paid no attention to it. He merely acknowledged it was odd to place a mirror in the center of the room. Then he looked at it, he truly looked at it. And for a moment he thought he was imagining things. He blinked once and yet the object of his bemusement was still there. Perhaps it was a trick of the light? No, light could never do that.

He took a step closer to the mirror. The image it reflected did not disappear. With a calculating hand he reached out and touched the mirror's surface. The glass was cold and he nearly pulled his hand away from instinct. The image was still there.

Botan's fair, sleeping visage was still reflected in the mirror glass.

"Beautiful, isn't she?"

Kurama hastily drew his hand from the glass at the sound of the voice. Though not turning fully, he moved himself to an angle that he could see the owner from.

There Hakuma stood, in all his demon glory. His ningen clothes had been cast off and replaced with princely looking garbs. A long silver cape fanned out behind him as he advanced a couple of steps. 

"I thought so the first time I glimpsed her in my mirror. How majestic she looked, how vibrant was her color against the winter gray. Her cheeks flushed and red from the cold and yet her smile still dazzled me. She was so innocent, so pure. I knew at that moment I had to have her. Such a thing so pure had to be mine."

Kurama stared in disbelief. But that emotion only graced his features for a moment. Soon his eyes narrowed with well-controlled anger. His cool intellect was working hard in formulating a plan. Hakuma's sudden confession had caught him off guard, but not completely. He had enough of his wits about him to be incensed beyond all rational thought. Speaking of Botan as if she was mere possession! A toy to play with! He would not stand for such things. He _could_ not stand for such things. Speaking in a very calm voice-though any trained psychologist would be able to detect the rage that laced his words- he said, "She is not a _thing_."

Hakuma raised an eyebrow, his primary confidence fading fast as he realized Kurama was more then apt to match it. Perhaps he'd underestimated him.

"A _thing_, by definition, is a material object. Botan is a _person, _a single, solitary individual. Thus, she can not be possessed as you would a _thing. _You have no more rights to her then I."

Hakuma swallowed the sudden bout of incompetence he was feeling and answered with as much serenity as he could muster, "Of course, my dear boy. But you were wrong near the end there."

The ice demon paused a moment to receive Kurama's startled expression. When he got none, he continued.

"You see I do have a great deal more rights to her then you do. You see, young Botan is my bride-to-be."

Kurama's temper went up a notch, though he didn't show it. The thought of Botan marrying this imbecile was so utterly ridiculous that had the kitsune been in a better mood he would have been stifling laughter.

But as it happened, Kurama was not in a better mood. The thought of Botan even remotely involved with this cretin was not comical but infuriating. And he couldn't stand his mindless blather anymore. 

"I've had enough," he expressed before brandishing his rose whip.

~*~*~*~*~

Arisu rocked on her heels in the center of her cell. It was uncomfortably small. It couldn't have been more then 6 foot by 6 foot. It's walls were made of horrible bleak gray slate and the only light was filtered in through the barred window.

The cell was stale. The air itself seemed lifeless and old. The smell that entered her nostrils reminded her of old bread that had been left out for far too long. To the point where it was no longer soft and moist but hard and dry. 

The first thing she did when she'd entered the cell was drop to the floor and curl up in to a fetal position. She'd been like that for the past hour. Rocking back and forth reflecting on the desperation of her situation.

She had many things to despair about. The fact she was sitting in a cell. Her brother rushing head on into a situation he knew nothing about. But the thought that ambled its way through her mind most of all was that of Koenma.

How he'd looked away.

Every time she thought of the look of scorn the prince had expressed it tore her heart out. So what if he'd been in his toddler form? His eyes were the same. The same old and caring eyes she looked into so many times. It was the same Koenma. It was the Koenma who had held her hand in his. The very same. 

And he'd looked away.

In a sense she was glad he hadn't been in his teenage form. Thankful she hadn't seen his pained look to its full extent. 

But the fact still remained. He'd looked away. 

It was her own fault though. She'd betrayed him. Why? She honestly couldn't say. All she knew was that she was a fool for doing so. The minute she'd told her brother she'd help him was the minute she'd signed away Koenma's trust forever.

She understood why he hadn't looked at her. She understood she didn't deserve his forgiveness.

None the less, burning tears still stun her eyes every time she thought of it. 

How could she be so dense? So stupid? Why did she have to do it? Why did she?

Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY!

The question rang in her ears. A question she'd never be able to answer. Not even if she devoted her entire life to the study of it. The question burned itself into the membrane of her mind and she asked it over and over again. And ever time she asked it a feasible answer escaped her.

She finally gave up on her effort of holding her tears back and let them flow. Down her cheeks and soothing the burning question.

So enveloped in her own self pity, Arisu didn't even notice when someone opened the cell door.

She remained negligent until the figure announced its presence with a cough.

Arisu looked up to find a blue ogre staring dumbly down at her.

"Excuse me, Miss, but would you please follow me?" He asked with a very strange sense of uncertainty about him.

Arisu nodded mutely and rose from her position on the floor, slightly self-conscious about her tear stained face. But whether the ogre didn't notice or was too polite, he didn't say anything and merely beckoned her out of the cell.

She wanted to ask where she was going. Where was he taking her? But she remained silent, sure her voice was still broken from the amount she'd cried. She followed the mysterious ogre down several hallways and doors. All in silence. Every once and awhile he'd look behind him to check if she was still there but as soon has her presence was confirmed he turned back to face front.

Soon Arisu was surprised that they were outside. She looked around her in the sudden wonder of being outside in the Ningenki. What was going on exactly? What was she doing out here? She turned to the blue ogre with full intention to ask him what was going on but he spoke first.

"Master Koenma has given you full pardon."

Arisu stared at him, mouth open and aghast. _Koenma?_

"He requested I give you this." He quickly shoved a brown package into Arisu's hands and rushed back in doors without another word.

Arisu stood in dumfounded silence for what seemed an eternity. Gingerly she tore the brown paper away from the package. When at last the wrapping fell away from the object it hid Arisu had broken into a new flow of tears.

In her hands she held a photograph. One last memory of the two of them together. And he'd given it to her. 

~*~*~*~*~

__

"Never again..."

Botan's eyes met his. Those deep, emerald pools held so much love and kindness it was almost hard to hold their gaze for long. But she held it. Letting herself slowing sink into his stare and melt into him. The scent of roses was strong. It overpowered her senses. Pulling her further into him.

"I'll never again leave you."


	22. The Knight in Shining Armor

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 22 ~*~*~*~*~

Hakuma dodged the attack at the last moment. In a fraction of an instant, he leaped stealthily aside. With sure-footed grace he landed across the room from where he had previously stood a smirk smearing itself across his face. _So, _he thought with a sense of anticipation, _lets see what sort of power the infamous Makai thief has._

The situation held a sort a sort of fairytale-like romance; the ice demon almost broke into a fit of giggles with the thought. Here he was, the charming prince, defending his lady fair from the likes of this ruthless foe who would whisk away his bride-to-be. It was almost too good to be true. He could see it now; sitting down with his children and hearing them beg again and again, "Please, Father! Tell us the story of how you saved Mother from the evil Youko Kurama!" And then Botan, his beautiful queen, kissing his cheek and saying, "To think! If it wasn't for your chivalry I would still be in his clutches!"

And, O, what a tale it'd be! Taking his first born heir on his lap and relating it from the beginning! How pristine his family image was becoming! "Come, Son," he could hear himself say, "It all began when I became bed ridden with fever and too weak to stand. As I lay there, staring at the ceiling I heard the words of my father, 'One day, Boy, you will grow up and bear heirs of your own. And they will grow up and rule the frozen land of the Makai.' And as I sat there, I realized that what if I never had a chance to bear heirs? What if I died before I had children?" Here, Hakuma saw himself pause as the children gave frightened gasps. A secretive smile grew on his thin lips; "So, I harkened unto my sister, Arisu," His Son, sitting on his lap, immediately cried out, "Aunt Arisu!" 

Hakuma nodded and continued, "Yes, Arisu; she had stayed by my bedside all through my sickness. I told her that when I get well, and I would get well, I would search for a wife." 

"Mother!" His children cried at once.

"Yes, Mother. But when at last I did find her, I found that she was in the possession of the infamous, Makai thief, Youko Kurama!"

More frightened gasps on his children's behalf.

So, I stole your mother away to my palace, but Kurama followed! Faced with no other choice and fueled by my love for my bride I challenged the fox demon to a fight! A duel! A battle, pitching demon against demon! Love against lust! Good against evil! In the end, good prevailed."

Speaking of the duel to end all duels, he should probably get back to it now. Hakuma whirled around just in time to see Kurama unleash another attack of his rose whip. Spinning the whip around his full-circle, the thorny weapon was meant to hit the makai prince and slash deep gashes in his side, but Hakuma jumped out of the way, dodging once again.

But this time, Hakuma countered with an attack of his own. "Ice Knives!" He shouted, simultaneously throwing a barrage of sharp-edged icicles at Kurama. 

The fox demon, with a fluid grace, leaped out of the way. But, unfortunately, Kurama wasn't as lucky as Hakuma had been. There were simply too meaning shards. As he jumped artfully away, a shard grazed his shoulder, sending spurts of crimson blood from the wound.

"Ugh!" Kurama grimaced, and nursed his damaged shoulder. He looked up at Hakuma, rage boiling up inside him. But he didn't let him see that, instead of a heated gaze the look he gave him was colder then the frozen wasteland around him. Such, a look did its job; Hakuma paled but grinned satisfactorily anyway.

"Kurama, don't you see? I'm the knight in shining armor! You are the sinister figure who would steal the knight's love away!" Hakuma laughed.

Kurama sniggered and shook his head. Hakuma ceased his laughter and looked at the fox demon, startled.

"I believe you have our roles reversed." 

Before Hakuma could react, Kurama voice broke in, shouting his next attack.

"Rose petal waltz formation!" He shouted as red petals began to waft in on an unforeseen breeze and surround the redheaded demon in a sort a sort of whirlwind. Hakuma blanched and stared at Kurama in shock. What was he going to do with rose petals?

Kurama smiled clandestinely at Hakuma's ignorance. He wouldn't suspect what was going to happen to him next. With a wave of his hand he sent them flying toward Hakuma.

The ice demon never imagined that rose petals could be so sharp. As the first petal sliced through his skin, Hakuma realized he had been wrong. More wrong then he had thought possible. Every single one of those petals ripped through his body, slicing him again and again and again.

He screamed, part in pain and part in terror. How! How could a flower hurt so much?

As as last his mind broke free from its terrified mold and back into the rational, the pale man put up his shield. 

The flower petals relented.

Hakuma stared up at the nonchalant kitsune standing before him, red suddenly blinded his vision. Panting he threatened, "You.... You...You'll pay for that Youko!"

Kurama merely nodded. This enraged Hakuma further, everything was tinted a horrible red color, rage consumed him and fires ate away at his reason.

He rushed at the demon, screaming at the top of his lungs, "ACID BLIZZARD GUST!"

A thick severe blast of cold hit the room and it filled with a white blindness; nothing could be seen in the sheet of fine snow. Hakuma's shield was still up and thus protected him from the most dangerous part of his attack. The acid constitution of the snow. Right now his blizzard was eating through Kurama, right down to the bone. A morbid appeasement setting in, the ice prince burst in maniacal laughter.

"HA HA HA! WHO'S THE KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR NOW! WHO! WHO! HA HA HA!"

"I am."

Hakuma's clapped his mouth shut. Who had said-

Something hit him, in the midst of all the blinding snow he could not tell what but something did all the same. And perhaps at the moment he was suffering from delirium but he could have sworn that he saw a pair of golden eyes piercing into him. 

Hakuma stumbled back trying to find his balance. But it was lost forever. With a cry of surprise he fell back and went crashing into the mirror he loved so. 

~*~*~*~*~

The snow slowly dissipated and as the room cleared, revealing a single redheaded man standing in the center over a body, scarred and bloody, lying on the shattered remains of a mirror.

Hakuma looked directly in to Kurama's emerald eyes. Emerald. And yet he could have sworn they had been gold. He opened his mouth preparing to mutter some sort of last word, something that would scar the kitsune for life, etched in his pretty-boy head forever. But all that came out was incoherent splutters and rivulets of blood. His gray eyes glazed over and then shut. 

Kurama looked at his fallen foe blankly. No pity, compassion, or even triumph was found in his eyes. Only a sort of blank and hollow stare. He knelt down at Hakuma's side reached in to pocket of prince's waistcoat. In it he found a key and a necklace.

~*~*~*~*~

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HA HA! TAKE THAT TEACHERS! I updated and I only had to stay home sick to do it! *laughs manically* But seriously, I am sick. So it's best I go and make myself some chicken soup. But I just wanted to give all my wonderful and supportive reviewers another chapter. But I leave you with question: Is Hakuma really dead? Think about I never said he died, did I? Did I? But anyway...

I'll try to have Chapter 23 up next Thursday but don't kill me if it isn't. There should be about 2 chapters left but maybe more if I'm feeling creative. So, HUZZAH! Ha, I got to keep it. ^_^ Thanks, Cheeto. 

Trowa: Take me back, Meiko. She's nuts. 0.0

No, I'm not. Now back in the closet!

-Frith the Second, Esq. 


	23. Trial and Error

"Because she doesn't love you!" -Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 23 ~*~*~*~*~

"Botan."

The sleeping, blue-haired deity's eyes gently fluttered open. The lucid, amethyst orbs searched for who had called her name. They rested upon the caller, he was leaning over her, face floating above her own. At first she thought she was still dreaming. So, she didn't say anything, only peered into the emerald pools that were his eyes and felt the warmth of his breath caress her face. She would have given anything for him to lean down a little further, so close his lips might brush hers. 

But as she stared into his eyes, she became acutely aware of the cold biting at her fingers. With a sudden jolt she came crashing into reality. This was real. The Kurama that stood before her was the real Kurama. It was no longer just a dream. She could hardly sustain the overwhelming joy welling up inside her. He'd come for her. She sat up so fast Kurama had to jump back.

She shouted his name and threw her arms around his neck.

~*~*~*~*~

Hakuma hit the back wall as he was thrown into his cell. A cracking sound resounded through the air as he slump into a pile on the floor. The last thing he heard before he slipped slowly into unconsciousness was the metallic crashing of the cell door and the turning of the key.

The guard stuffed his key in his pocket as he studied the latest prisoner. They'd found him close to death, deep gashes running through out his body. They'd cleaned him up as best they could and removed all the glass from the wounds. Though, in this humble guards opinion the should have finished the kitsune's job. Any lunatic who did what he did deserved to die. He'd personally met Botan, and was on friendly terms with her. And when he heard what happened to her, he personally thought the young guide to the Underworld was undeserving of her fate. It was a crying shame that such bad things happened to such good people.

__

At least the fox demon came through, the jailer thought smugly. This creep deserved every last one of those ugly scars. And indeed he had a lot of them, they run up and down his face and arms. You'd never seen so much as what was coming out of him after they'd retrieved him. It was amazing the former villain had turned into a hero. It was horribly romantic.

There were already rumors spreading. Zillions of them, zipping from mouth to ear in the time of an hour. The most popular one being that the ex-thief and the deity of death had fallen for each other. The guard thought this was rubbish, but all the women of the Rekai thought it was wonderful. Like a modern fairytale. Though it sounded false, you had to admit there was a lot of evidence for it. Like, why had the former convict risked so much for the sake of the girl?

Once as he was strolling down the corridors, he heard a woman speak of the love between Kurama and Botan. Having been sick of all these rumors he rudely snapped that it was probably forbidden for a demon to love a woman from the Rekai. All the woman did was gasp excitedly and compare there romance to that of the Ningenkai's Romeo and Juliet.

The guard shook his head wearily and looked once more upon the ice demon in the cell. It was strange, not yesterday had someone else occupied this cell. And as coincidence would have it, it had been this man's sister. She had escaped in the night though. When he had finally worked up enough courage to tell the prince of his failure, Koenma had merely shrugged it off and said with a wave, "We have bigger fish to fry, Ogre."

There were so many things he didn't understand, women above all. So with a resentful sigh, the jailer turned from the cell, muttering a disgruntled insult as he left.

"Freak."

~*~*~*~*~

The young ice demon's trial was the talk of the Rekai. Excited murmurs spread though corridors and talk of possible outcomes of the trial. This was not the first case of kidnapping ever, oh no. In fact, demons kidnapping ningens was as common as eating soup with a spoon. Trials such as these usually went unnoticed by the crowd. But this time it was different, very different indeed. 

The demon had not kidnapped a ningen. The demon had kidnapped a very important member of the Rekai. Demons kidnapping anyone from Rekai was simply unheard of. It was just about as common as eating soup with a fork. It was simply not done. Hakuma had shattered the barriers of villainy with such an staggering act. It triumphed over many of Yoko Kurama's various thefts. And the fact that Hakuma had tried to eat one of the Rekai's favorite kind of soup didn't help his case either. The Deity of Death was known and loved through out the palace and in their book anyone with indecency to steal from them the most precious and kind flower of the Spirit World deserved to locked in a cold dark place and the key thrown away.

And maybe some scorpions in this dark place, just to exact their revenge.

So, the day the trial took place the court room was packed. Wall to wall bodies, the large and expansive room was filled with bodies. So many that the Ogre Guardsmen had the time of their life trying to fit the defendant in. Witnesses to the crime were set in the front row. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei were very squashed in their seats and the three boys were uncomfortably close. 

"Move over, you three-eyed shrimp."

Hiei scoffed with annoyance, "You are the one who should be moving."

Yusuke was at wit's end. "Shut up! Both of you!"

Kurama was the end of the bench and looked quite comfortable despite the packed room. His head leaned against the wall and his emerald eyes were half shut as though he were asleep. Hiei regarded his friend with a fleeting sense of concern. Ever since he'd returned from the castle Kurama had seemed exhausted, acting as if everyday was just another obstacle to overcome.

Yusuke wasn't aware of his friend's sudden lack of energy as his attention was turned to a platform in the center of the room. The platform was a good 5 feet above the ground and a small staircase had to be built so those who stood trial could reach what had been nicknamed, "The Platform of Shame."

Whether or not the ice demon standing atop the platform bound and shackled felt any shame was a mystery. But by the way he stood erect and his features set in a grim sort of martyr-like expression said he did not.

The flood of voices in the room ceased at the sound of the Rekai Prince clearing his throat. He stood at one of the adjacent doors surrounded by a flock of ogres. At his convenience, Koenma had chosen to appear in his teen form. It was much easier to command a room when you did not appear as a chubby two-year-old. With a superior smirk he strode to the back wall of the room where he climbed to the top of a similar and much taller platform. At the top of the platform was a podium which the teen stood behind.

The silence in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Only the sound of many breaths being held could be heard in the vast structure. Koenma fixed Hakuma in a steely gaze. The poor soul was doomed from that very moment. When Koenma looked into his eyes he saw the familiar cruelty he'd seen once reflected in Arisu's. And as he saw the steadfast gaze of the kidnapper he knew that he had been the one who had put it there. His beloved Arisu. Corrupted. By the very man who stood before him. Hakuma never stood a chance.

"Hakuma." And as Koenma said his name not a single soul missed the poison that it was laced in.

"Yes." The ruler of the frozen wasteland answered. The tone of his voice sounded as though merely acknowledging his name was an act of defiance.

"Are you aware of the crimes that you have been charged with?"

"Yes."

"And how to you plead?"

"Innocent."

The entire room seemed to gasp simultaneously. Yusuke and the others all at once seemed to be much more alert. However, Kurama still stared blankly before him.

Koenma's teeth ground together infuriated by this heresy. It was obvious that it was just the opposite. Four Spirit Detectives had stated their case. The nerve of this man was aggravating.

"Innocent?"

"Yes." Hakuma answered as though the gasps had been nonexistent and everyone was agreeing with earnest that he was indeed not guilty of these crimes.

"So you are saying you didn't trap Kurama in The Box of Insanity?" Koenma quirked an eyebrow.

"It was Arisu who did that."

How willingly he sold his sister out was a disgrace. "But she did so on your orders."

"No. I gave no such orders."

The room rumbled with murmurs once more before Koenma silenced them. "And you didn't kidnap Botan?"

Hakuma seemed outraged by this. His previously cool voice raised an octave. "I did not 'kidnap' her! I had every right to take her! She was my fiancee!"

Koenma looked at the ice demon as though he'd just told him pigs _could_ fly and, in fact, we're playing croquet in his front yard. And really that wasn't far from what he had said. He glanced over at Kurama for some sort of sign. The fox demon was still stoic as ever.

"She agreed to marry you..." He seemed at a loss for words, "Of her own free will?" It was at that moment he desperately wished that Botan was not home in bed with the flu and a temperature of 105. Had she not been delirious he would have insisted she'd come here. Though, he ought to count himself lucky. It was a miracle that even Kurama had come. He's temperature, though not as high as Botan's, was way up there.

"Yes."

Koenma knew this was a blatant lie. He just had to think of a way to disprove him.

"Wait!" And the entire room turned their attention to the black-haired teen who'd just abruptly stood up. "If Botan was engaged to this guy, how come he had to lure he down to the park with a phone call sounding like it was from Kurama?"

Hakuma looked at Yusuke for a moment before shaking his head, "I made no such phone call. Kurama must have done it himself." Hakuma spoke the fox demon's name with as much hatred as Koenma spoke his. 

Kuwabara nudged his fellow red head. "Hey! Did you?"

"I made the phone call." Kurama answered in a lifeless voice.

"Why?" The Prince of Rekai asked, intrigued.

"I wished to speak with Botan." It was the same flat voice he'd spoken in before.

Hakuma nodded. "Yes, and when the thief failed to showed up I spoke with Botan."

Kuwabara was outraged. "Darn right he didn't showed up! It was because you had him locked in that box thing!"

Hakuma glared. "I told you before. It was Arisu who was responsible."

Kuwabara returned the glare while sticking out his tongue and sat haughtily back down.

"So...." Koenma began, interrupting the heated conversation. "You met Botan at the park where, I can only assume, you proposed to her?" The words sounded dubious even as he said them.

"That is correct." 

"And she accepted?"

"Yes."

"Of her own free w--" The word "will" died on his lips as the doors to the court room suddenly flew open. A single voice called out, "He's lying! And I can prove it!"

Arisu stood in the doorway. A black cloak clung to her shoulders casting an ominous appearance to this mysterious new witness. Everyone scrutinized the girl with questioning glances. Everyone knew her. She'd been in the dungeon not a day before. This girl was the defendant's sister. Why then, was she accusing him?

Koenma found himself at a loss for words. All he could do was blink down at the woman. When at last he found his words, all he could think to say was, "Approach the bench." His voice seemed to revert back to its toddler state as he said it. 

Kuwabara analyzed the look that past between Arisu and the prince. He scratched his head thoughtfully before turning to Yusuke. "Hey, you think something's going on between them?" He whispered.

Yusuke's eyes widened and looked as though he were about to answer but was cut off.

"Please state your name for the court."

"Arisu." The crowd buzzed with excitement.

"And you say you have proof that that this man is guilty?"

"Yes." She turned around and faced the onlookers. "It's very obvious really. Why would she marry Hakuma when..." She pointed an accusing finger, "She doesn't love him!"

Hakuma blanched, "WHAT? Of course she loves me!"

His sister shook her head, "No, she doesn't. She loves not you, but him." The finger found a different person to accuse. The finely manicured nail was directed at the front row, unswervingly meant for none other then the red headed fox demon. The boys' eyes immediately jumped to the size of saucers. Even the dazed Kurama snapped to attention. The emerald pools focused on Arisu in amazement. The girl smiled at the sudden flood of joy that washed over his features. 

"And I'm pretty sure the feelings mutual." 

Yusuke nearly grinned from ear to ear when he heard his assumption had been right. And the best part of all was to find that the self proclaimed Master of Love seemed to have known nothing of the subtle romance between the fox and the deity. Kuwabara was staring blankly at Kurama, his mouth wide open and gaping. He blinked once or twice before uttering something like, "What?" Hiei, however, continued to face forward with an air of impassiveness. No one saw the small smirk that danced across his lips for a fraction of a second. 

The impact of the thronging crowd was much louder. Conversations erupted, shouts of how they'd been right all the time and others muttering how it couldn't be possible. Koenma's reaction was very similar to Kuwabara's. He looked at the fox demon with utter shock. This all thing was news to him. He hadn't even noticed any strange behavior on Botan's behalf. Then again, he hadn't seen the girl for two weeks. But the sad part of the entire thing was how similar the entire situation was. It was as though Botan had held up a mirror to his own life. Another relationship between Makai and Rekai. Hopefully this one wouldn't end the same as the last one did. Koenma had restrain himself from laughing bitterly. It was all horribly, horribly ironic.

Quieting the masses once again he turned to Arisu. "Have you any proof that she loves him?" It was a ghastly question to ask, he knew it the moment it slipped of his tongue. He remarked with a pang of sadness Kurama's crestfallen features. He hoped the she-demon's response would lighten his heart.

"The proof sits there." She once again gestured toward Kurama. "Him and his miraculous escape from The Box of Insanity. I admit, I couldn't quite grasp how it'd happened. So, I consulted the book I'd read about The Box in and found that, indeed, there are a few ways that The Box can be defeated."

Arisu paused a moment to remember what had been listed at the bottom of the page in _The Big Book of Tortures._ "One was to have someone open The Box before it was too late. Which was pretty obvious. But this didn't happen. I hadn't opened The Box and Kurama had been in there for more then an hour. There was on more listed, however..."She paused once again but this time it was for dramatics.

"A very strong emotional tie with someone outside The Box. And the book I read specifically stated that truly the only emotion strong enough to overpower the dark magic was Love."

Hakuma had listened to his sister's speech with a stubborn wall of denial. "That proves nothing! It just says the he loves her! It says nothing about her!"

Arisu gritted her teeth, "You're wrong! I said a tie! It takes to strings to tie a knot! Botan was the one who saved Kurama from insanity! Botan drew him out of the pits of despair! Though they both were unaware that's what actually happened!"

Hakuma scoffed.

"You want more proof?" Sister asked Brother with a sneer, "Here it is!" And from the depths of her cloak she withdrew a large shard of glass. She raised it triumphantly above her head as a strong light emanated from the fragment.

The Ice Prince gasped. "A piece of my mirror!"

And indeed it was, as was made evident as the light was slowly dissolute into two vague shapes. Soon it could clearly be seen that one had very bright red hair and the other's was a brilliant blue. Botan's voice was magnified the audience.

"Kurama-kun! So what brings you to the park?"

Kurama's voice answered as the present Kurama was hit with an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

"Same reason as you."

"Oh! How lovely! I was afraid I would skate alone!" The past Botan remarked.

"Agreed. Skating is far more enjoyable when done with friends." 

The mirror shard's light diminished as became nothing more then a single piece of reflective glass.

"You see, my dear brother." Arisu continued without missing a bit and with a considerable amount of scorn in her voice. "Love is much stronger then you_ or _the makers of The Box could have ever imagined. It can surmount sorrow, overwhelming odds and even..." She nearly turned around but stopped herself. "Has the power to forgive."

Kuwabara couldn't contain himself, he'd been fidgeting through that entire speech. With what he would describe later as a muscle spasm, the red head leaped to his feet. "Here! Here!"

Koenma smiled at the girl whom he had once loved. Perhaps she'd changed. Perhaps she was his old Arisu again. Whatever it was, Arisu was right. Love did have the power to forgive. Lifting a gavel and banging it, he announced to the audience. "In light of these facts I find the defendant to be lying. And hereby sentence him to--"

Arisu spun around and gave him a pleading look. Asking him with her eyes to go easy on her only sibling.

"Banishment. Court is adjourned. Take him away." With that, the noble judge arose and started walking down the stairs. Once he was ground level, Arisu beseeched him.

"Koenma!"

Koenma turned around.

"Please..."

The young prince held up a hand to silence her. Arisu stopped in her tracks, her features turned down into an imploring look.

"Meet me in the drawing room in an hour." And with those final words, Koenma turned away.

The Spirit Detectives arose from their seats. Kuwabara was the first to congratulate his friend on the newly discovered news. "Alright, Kurama! Looks like he finally got a girlfriend. To be honest, I was starting to get a little worried--"

Yusuke brought his fist slamming down on the top of the teen's head. "Hey! Ow! Why'd you do that?"

"Because you're an idiot."

Hiei wrinkled his nose in disgust before turning to Kurama. "Well, Kitsune, it looks like you had nothing to worry about after all."

Kurama nodded, still a little unsure of whether or not he was dreaming. It seemed so unreal. Botan truly loved him? His feelings were returned? It didn't seem possible. He chuckled slightly before looking up.

"I suppose I didn't...But I'd be grateful if neither one of you told Botan."

Kuwabara stopped rubbing his head and looked at the fix demon in surprise. "What? Why?"

Yusuke looked like he was going to hit the carrot top again. "Because if you told her, it'd hardly be romantic, now would it?"

"Oh..."

Hiei rolled his eyes. 

~*~*~*~*~

Okay, there are probably a few mistakes in this but I was just to lazy to beta read it. And I would also like to say that I'm aware that in a real court room they would have waited for Botan to be well enough to defend herself but that would have completely ruined the next chapter.

Speaking of the next chapter, I assure you it won't be near as boring as this one, and with plenty of Kurama/Botan fluff it'll make you wish that you could use Chapter 24 for a pillow. Also, the next Chapter will be the last and final chapter. Yeah, I'm sad too. *cries*


	24. Sweet Rose, Beloved Peony

When you say you love me

The world goes still, so still inside and

When you say you love me

For a moment, there's no one else alive

-Josh Groban, _When You Say You Love Me_

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 24 ~*~*~*~*~

The world was quiet. The cars in the streets uttered not a peep as they zipped by going to God knows where. Happy park goers and folks striding down the street at a brisk pace to their next appointment all were hushed and spoke only in whispers. Whispers that were spoken with the softest and most clandestine voice that it could scarcely be heard even by the speaker. Ears were red with strain as they futilely searched for sound and traces of the once busy street that had ran between the park and the apartment building. But alas that all the hustle and bustle outside Botan's shut window would so suddenly be quieted, for it was all that kept the bed ridden girl from sinking into the darkening depths of boredom. 

Her magenta eyes had long ago glazed with an overpowering film of sleep and the gentle lull of her own breathing threatened to pull her into unconsciousness. Every time her eyelids sank lower and lower until only a tiny ray of light could slip through, she'd gasp to break the rhythm of breath and her eyelids would snap open. And if only for a moment, her mind would reach full wakefulness before slipping back once again. It was only a matter of time before she succumbs to sleep but as long as she could muster she'd fight its draw. She had to stay awake. 

It was not only sleep that weighted her eyelids, but also her sickness. Though most of the symptoms had ebbed it still daunted her daily and kept her from arising from her bed. 

It'd been nearly a week since Kurama had rescued her from the frozen northern realms of the Makai. She still relished the delightful memory of Kurama's strong arms carrying her away and back to the safety of the human world. He'd at once noticed her fever and the very strong cough she'd been experiencing. So, with great haste he brought her to a doctor. From the moment that the doctor recommended she stay in bed to now she'd done nothing else but stare at the ceiling and read magazines. But magazines were in short supply and she'd already read all of them from cover to cover.

So there was nothing left to do but stare at the ceiling and wait patiently until twelve noon. If she could just stay awake for the few more minutes it would take for the clock to strike twelve. That's all she needed to do. The second hand moved slowly around the clock face. Ticking away time, slowly all too slowly. Anticipation tightened her stomach. 

__

He'd be here any moment.

Any moment. She'd only have to wait. But how cruel the clock was! Each tick of the clock seemed to last an eternity! Echoing throughout her mind like a voice in a cave.

The echo ended at the sound of the mechanisms of the door's lock slowly being turned. Soon the sound of the door itself being slowly opened found it's way to the impatient deity's ears. With a gasp of elation she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

She only needed to pretend for a few minutes for soon she heard the creaking of her bedroom door and the sound of footstep upon the carpet. 

Kurama gazed about the room for a moment. It hadn't changed in the least, albeit there were quit a bit more tissue scattered on the ground then there had been yesterday. He made a mental note to pick them up before he left.

With a smile he set the tray he was holding on the bed stand and sat down in a chair (not before brushing the crumpled tissue off.) There was a brief moment where all he did was gaze at the "sleeping" Botan. She looked absolutely breath taking. Her blue hair was disheveled and her face was a horrible, pasty white from lack of sun but her face and hair was not what made her beautiful. She could have been missing a nose and Kurama would still say she was the most beautiful creature in the world, and even though she looked absolutely glorious while she was sleeping he missed the warm gaze of her amethyst eyes. 

He gently shook Botan's shoulder in order to rouse her. The deity's eyes snapped immediately opened and her eyes fell upon Kurama almost a split second after. 

"Kurama-kun!" She said sitting up and propping up her pillows so she could have something to lean against. "How's my other sick friend? Looking better I see." Botan added, feigning disdaining.

"Well, I wasn't out in the cold near as long as you," Kurama said matter-of-factly. 

"Lucky stiff. You have no idea how horrible it is to be bed ridden for a week!"

"I brought you soup." He gestured toward the tray.

Botan immediately perked up, "Oh! Is it chicken noodle?"

"Of course."

Kurama lifted the tray and replaced it on Botan's lap. The deity wasted no time in grabbing a spoonful of yellowish broth and devouring it hungrily. She then picked up the cup also sitting on the tray and swigged. After she'd gulped down a good portion of its contents she withdrew the cup and looked at it quizzically.

"That's not Orange Juice."

"No, it's EggNog. It's supposed to be some sort of Christmas drink."

"Oh," and then after a minute's scrutiny added, "Not bad."

The fox-demon smiled. When Botan had finished off her lunch he put the tray back on the bed stand.

"You know...I missed New Year."

He blinked in surprise at Botan's abrupt statement. But nodded in agreement.

Botan looked out the wind sadly. "And after I get better I have to straight back to Rekai. I won't even get to build a snowman."

"A snowman?" She nodded.

"Huh-huh. I try to build one every year." 

Kurama smiled. He didn't quite know why but he admired Botan for wanting to build a snowman. Something he just couldn't put his finger on, but it affirmed his love for her. As he looked at her smiling face he understood that truly that he had chosen the best woman to fall in love with. 

"Well, if you can't get off of work before winter ends I'll take you to the beach and we can build a sandman."

"Sorry, we can't do that." Kurama was taken aback.

"Why not?"

She shook her head in away that showed him she was teasing. "Because, you don't build sand_men _you build sand_castles._"

After a second of staring blankly at hr, he chuckled, "Alright then, we'll build a sandcastle."

Botan gave a cry of we of delight and hugged him ecstatically, "Oh! That'd be fantastic! Thank you!"

The kitsune smiled before pulling away from her, "I have a gift for you. Be back in a moment."

The girl blinked in surprise. _A gift....?_

Moments later Kurama returned holding something under his arm. Botan craned her neck to see what it was, practically boiling over with anticipation. When he sat back down she did mange to get a fairly good look at it. It seemed to be....A book?

He held it out to her and the deity gasped with surprise. She took it from him and handled it so delicately that it seemed she thought that if she dropped it the precious item would shatter. 

"Oh, Kurama....It's beautiful."

It was a book. But not one that was meant to be read. But one that was meant to be written in. A diary, the edges of the pages painted gold. The cover was perhaps the most exquisite thing she'd ever seen. A rose, gilded in gold, was pictured on the cover it's petals open and shimmering. She didn't know much about ningen money but she could tell it was very expensive. 

She went to open the diary but she found it would not. The covers were stubbornly fastened together by a latch. The latch and a small oddly shaped hole obviously meant for the key.

Kurama smiled at her obvious amazement of his gift. He wouldn't, of course, tell her but it had cost a good chunk of his paycheck. The diary had been custom made. 

"I though you'd be a little bored lying here all day." 

"It won't open!"

"The peony necklace was meant to be the key." Kurama said smugly. Botan gave a cry of despair.

"What is it?" He said with a worried look about him.

"I lost the necklace!" 

Kurama blinked in surprise. After a few moments of staring at her blankly realization dawned on him. "Oh! Did I never give it back to you?"

"What?"

He chuckled. "I suppose not. I found it on Hakuma while looking for the key to your cell." Still laughing at his forgetfulness he went searching through his pockets and retrieved the small, yet treasured, trinket from the front pocket of his trousers. 

Immediately her frown was turned upside down. She snatched the necklace from Kurama's hand but not before hugging him. "Oh, Kurama! You're the best! I was so said when I'd lost it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Withdrawing her arms she immediately set to work on undoing the lock on her new diary.

It took nearly all of Kurama's cool composure and iron will to refrain from breaking out into the widest small that was ever allowed to grace his handsome face. He was the _best_. She though he was the _best._ Though, he already knew she was in love with him but it launched him into the clouds to hear her say that. It was strange...It was as if all he wanted was for her to be happy. He'd never felt that way before. As he watched her flip carefully through the pages of her diary seeing that joy spread across her beautiful features was all he needed. Seeing her smile made him happier then anything he'd ever known. 

As he watched her smile like that he wondered why he'd put off telling her for so long. He had nothing to fear after all. He knew she loved him. He didn't have to worry about rejection. As he withdrew farther and farther into the endless sea that was his thoughts his answer was evident. He wanted the confession to be perfect. Every aspect of it was like a fairy tale. He just had to wait for the opportune moment. And that was not when she was sick in bed. 

Botan's angelic voice penetrated the confines of his thoughts and brought him crashing to the present. 

"Thank you so much, Kurama. I can't tell you how happy I am to finally have something to do! I was about bored to death!"

"That's not all of your present."

Botan was taken aback. There was more? 

Kurama once again went digging through his pockets. He handed her the object that he had recovered.

The minute Botan saw what it was she burst out laugh. "A light blue gel pen!"

"Exactly why the pages are black."

Botan grinned. "Thank you."

~*~*~*~*~

As agreed after she felt well enough to get out of bed she went directly back to Koenma. Packing all her worldly items she said her farewells to all her friends. She nearly burst into tears as she hugged Kurama good bye. With a watery smile she mounted her broom and left for the Rekai. 

And that was how she ended up here, staring blankly at Koenma's empty desk and cursing the Rekai prince and the blasted obligation he had bestowed upon her. If he was going to rip her away from everything she knew and loved he could have at least have the decency to be on time! Stupid, stupid toddler! She ought to ring her scrawny little neck!

Out of boredom she scrutinized the objects the prince kept on his desk. Sure it was snooping but the inconsiderate twit deserved it! _Let's see now...._

An emergency pacifier, no surprise there. Whenever the little lord became in rage he chewed his pacifier to the point they became useless. A large stack of paper, once again no real surprise. _What else? _Half-eaten muffin, a couple pens, post-it notes, lollipops (_What a pig!), _a stress ball and....A picture? That's new. She'd never seen it before.

Interested she picked up the photograph. She nearly gasped at what she saw. It was her respected boss in his teenaged form. But he wasn't alone in the photograph, oh no. A _woman _was with him. After further inspection of the scene she clapped her hands together excitedly. _Oh! Koenma-sama finally found himself a little romance! How sweet! Maybe that's why he's so late..._Being the hopeless romantic she was fancies of moonlit meetings and passes in the corridor danced through her head. But she didn't have long to entertain any notion of her boss's private life because her ears were met with the sound of a door opening.

Panicking, she set the picture down on the desk top where she had found it and positioned herself so it looked as though she'd been standing in front of his desk at attention the entire time.

"Good morning, Koenma-sama." Said Botan wondering where exactly where the hushed romance had taken place.

"Good morning, Botan." Said the teenaged Rekai lord in a singsong voice. Botan smiled knowingly. Perhaps she'd been right about the romance.

"Reporting for duty." _He's in his teenaged form. I must be right!_

Koenma had to think a moment before answering, "Ah yes! Your belated report" He made the journey to his desk, all the while humming. 

As he sat down, Botan launched into the report she'd prepared. But as she spoke she couldn't help but notice Koenma's dreamy look. She soon came to realize he wasn't paying attention to her in the least! He'd been staring at the photograph the entire time!

Seeing a chance to satisfy her theories she asked, "Who's the woman in the picture, Sir?"

"Hmmm?"

"The one you've been staring at," it only slightly sounded like gloating.

"Oh...." It was as though Koenma's attention had been hanging by a thread. A thread, which frayed away with the stress of weight with one last strain, snapped. "Oh!"

His eyes lost their glaze as he came crashing into reality. "She's uh....She's...." He cleared is throat and looked at Botan. "Say, Botan, I just realized something."

__

Trying to steer away from the subject. Oh! It's definitely love!

"You did have much of a vacation, did you? First you get kidnapped then you come down with pneumonia! Hardly seems fair, does it?"

Botan felt as though she'd burst. Was he doing what she thought (and desperately hoped) he was doing?

"So, I've decided to give you and extra week's vacation. Since I'm such a benevolent leader." He added as an after thought.

Botan did burst. All her glee and utter joy came bursting out of her like a whirlwind. "OH! THANK YOU, KOENMA-SAMA! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU _SO_ MUCH! YOU WON'T REGRET THIS! OH! NO YOU WON'T! THANK YOU!"  


Koenma seemed to be very afraid. 

She did a quick jig around the room before skipping out the door singing. As she mounted her broom along with her thoughts of building a snowman with Kurama she very much hoped Koenma and this girl _never_ broke up.

~*~*~*~*~

When Kurama returned home after Botan's departure nothing, absolutely nothing, could have pulled him from his depression. He wanted nothing more to crawl into bed and wake in the spring when Botan would be returning.

Every thought that passed through him was marred with regret. It plagued his mind constantly. He should have told her. He had a perfect chance. When she was saying good-bye to him all he had to do was say three little words to take the weight of his conscience of his shoulders forever. Three words! How hard were they to say? Especially when you knew he knew they'd be returned? He had had a perfect moment. And it had slipped through his fingers. 

But the spring would come soon. The frost would melt and the flowers would bud in his garden. And Botan would come. That was more important than all those things. And he would tell her then. No putting it off! No writing scripts as to what he would say not anything. If he ever wanted to see Botan of himself truly happy he had to do it.

But it still panicked him. The agony of waiting. It gave him more time to think it through. Spontaneous acts are, after all, best done on short notice. 

He sat brooding over the entire affair at his kitchen table, staring into the unfathomable depths of his teacup. It had long ago gone cold. The cup was like ice to his hand but Kurama took no notice of the trivialities. He hadn't really been in the mood to for tea anyway. He'd merely made it because the mechanical movements of preparing it would better suit drawing him into his pensive mood. It was silly; really, it was like he needed tea to make to be able to think. 

He sighed deeply. It was pointless ponder of these things. He would, as Yusuke had once put it, think himself into an early grave. He rose from the table and dumped his ice-cold beverage into the sink. As he put the cup in the dishwasher the doorbell rang.

He looked at the clock. It was six in the morning! Who would possibly wish to speak to him at this hour! Most people were still snug in their beds at this time of day. He had actually been seriously considering climb back into bed as well. The doorbell rang again.

He shrugged and walked toward the door. It was probably a sales person anyway. And not a very good one either. The best time to sell things was in the late afternoon when pretty much everyone was home. Not this early in the day! The most you could expect by coming by this early was getting things thrown at you.

__

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." He answered the annoying ring tone and turned the doorknob.

"Kurama-kun!" The next thing Kurama knew, Botan had thrown her arms around him.

"B...b...Botan?" He hardly ever stuttered. But this was such an occasion where it was necessary. 

"Huh-uh!" She beamed. "Surprised?"

He nodded. "Very!" He said in a tone that suggested he was much more.

Botan withdrew and seemed to be simply glowing with joy. "Well, I wasn't about to let you get away with out fulfilling your promise!"

"Promise?" The first promise that had popped into his mind was the one he'd made to Hiei. _I'm going to tell her._ Surely she couldn't mean that one?

"Yes, and I've come to build that snowman!"

Kurama was relieved in spite of himself, "Oh! _That _promise! Well, I'll just get my things..." And he turned toward his coat closet.

"Do happen to have carrots and a top hat?"

"Carrots are in the fridge. I don't have a top hat but there's a Santa hat in here." There was pause.

"I suppose that would work."

~*~*~*~*~

The park was absolutely filled with people. Children laughed as the climbed on the jungle gym. Parents gossiped as they watched them. And ice skaters had flooded the frozen pond. It took the two snowman builders quite sometime to find a perfect spot for their little creation.

But at last, near the north end of the pond, they found a spot secluded enough where they could build in peace. Botan had brought a rather large box of objects, which she held as the perfect snowmen accessories. Starting with a large box of perfectly round black pebbles, two sticks that that looked exactly as a snowman's arms should, three buttons, a wooden pipe, a woolen scarf, a carrot from Kurama's refrigerator, and of course, the piece de resistance, Kurama's Santa hat. One must inquire as to how she came across all these things. Kurama did and she merely told she's had nearly 500 years to perfect the art of snowman building. 

They set to it. Starting of well with the first and biggest of the three balls. The kitsune was surprised to find that she had indeed perfected the art. The ball when they'd finished was nearly perfectly round. It looked just like pictures he'd seen artist draw up. He couldn't believe she'd spend her long life on building statues made out of snow. Like he could say anything to about it, he'd spent his three hundred years stealing. Immortals did have to have their little hobbies, didn't they? Some...stranger then others...Youko would have thought perfecting an art that would melt in the heat was useless.

All went well with the middle sphere, until Kurama suddenly felt something cold hit his cheek. Remnants of

A snowball was found in his red hair. Surprised he looked up at Botan, who was smoothing out the snowman's torso while whistling innocently. Her tune cut off as a fresh ball of snow collided with her shoulder. By the time she realized what was going on Kurama was already forming more ammunition.

Smirking she exclaimed, "Oh, no you don't!" And she ducked just in time to avoid a ball aimed for her head. 

She scooped a handful of snow and compacted it. Using the half-finished snowman as cover she threw her weapon and hit--

Nothing.

Where'd he go?

__

Wham!

The snowball hit her head and burst. Coating her blue hair in powdery white. She spun around quickly and saw Kurama standing in the snow, eyes filled with laughter and tossing yet another snowball from hand-to-hand.

"Oh! You'll pay for that Kurama!"

With something that might have resembled a battle cry she tackled him, pulling both her and him to the ground in a shower of snow. 

Botan found herself on top of Kurama, staring directly into his emerald eyes. She was lost in them. It took her what seemed an eternity to find her way back from them. When at last she was drawn back into the biting cold of reality she realized the precarious position she was in. She blushed the color of Kurama's hair and, shaking, stood back up. 

"We...uh...should get back to the snowman...." Her voice sounded far squeakier then she'd meant it to. And as Kurama slowly rose to his feet she half expected him to comment on her strange behavior. But he only smiled and said nothing.

When the third and final head was completed they plopped it on the top of the other two spheres. And for a moment both of them stepped back and admired their handiwork. Botan had seen it several times but Kurama had never built something like this. So, this was very exciting for him. After she'd seen enough to be satisfied the deity went to the cardboard box and pulled out the two sticks and the box of pebbles.

"Here you go." Said Botan thrusting the sticks out to Kurama who just looked at them.

After a moment of his silence she realized what the problem was. "You stick them on either sides of the second ball."

He nodded and took the sticks. And then questioned what she was going to do with the pebbles. "These are for the face. I'll do that, okay?"

Another nod and went to do the job that was appointed to him. Botan smiled and opened the box of pebbles. And as she positioned the first eye, she couldn't help but burst into song. 

"In the meadow we can build a snowman. And pretend his name is Parson Brown. He'll say are you married? We'll say--"

Kurama burst out laughing. Botan looked at him startled.

"What's so funny?" Kurama continued laughing.

He stopped for a moment long enough to tell her what it was. "Kuwabara was singing that very song as we came to rescue you."

"Well, it's nice to know you had fun while I was trapped in a freezing castle with a psycho." She said feigning hurt.

The fox demon's deep and melodious laugh rang through the air. She watched him in with dream-like gaze. He was so beautiful when he laughed.

"I love it when you laugh."

His laughter died on his lips and he fixed Botan in a confused look.

Botan, at first, couldn't pin the reason for his look and then it hit her like a ton of bricks. She'd said that _aloud!_ _Oh, could going, Botan! Why don't you just tell him that every page of that diary he gave you is filled with nothing but why you love him next?_ She reprimanded her self before clearing her throat and becoming engrossed in the location of the second eye.

"I love it when you laugh too."

She nearly dropped the box of pebbles. She brought her eyes to his again. Amethyst became enveloped in the deep pools of emerald and Kurama knew that this was the time. Never could he have imagined a more perfect moment. 

"In fact, I love everything about you." Botan forget how to breathe.

"Every step you make is the height of grace. Your voice is the sound of bells. Your eyes shine like the stars on a cloudless night. When all the world is still and the night air is filled with silence. I'd rather spend a moment in your company then anywhere else in this world. Not just this world...The three worlds! Botan...Do you see where I'm going with this?"

She would have answered is she could remember how to speak. All of sudden her tongue wanted nothing more then to permit Kurama to say more. And ears only wanted to hear more. She saw where this was going...But it was a place she'd thought that was out of reach.

"Botan, I love you."  


Tears sprang to her eyes. Her knees became weak.

"I have all along. I just haven't realized it until now."  


She felt faint. The world was whirling around her. 

"And I would just like to know do you love me too?"

And if there was ever an answer that she knew better it was never said with so much vigor. She would have screamed his answer to the heavens and beyond. She would have told his answer to every living thing on the face of this green Earth. And if a soul denied it they'd be horribly mistaken. Tears of pure bliss spilled from her eyes as she spoke the words that had been weighing so heavily on her chest all this time.

"Yes! Yes! YES!" She divided into his arms, his lips catching hers.

Time seemed to stop, recognizing the lovers' need for privacy. The world was left behind as their lips met. All the love that they had pent up all this while was spilled into that kiss. Everything they had ever thought or felt for each other was driven from one mouth to the other. And both knew there was nothing either wanted more. Kurama ran his hands through her long blue hair. Relishing every soft strand. Botan pulled herself into him, never wanting to leave his warm embrace.

The sun climbed higher into the sky. Reaching its apex and them slowly glided down into the west horizon. The sky becoming darker and blacker. Stars peppered the sky and the moon hung crystal clear among a sea of black.

The streets were empty. The light the street lights cast was enjoyed by no one but two young lovers walking in the dark just for the pleasure of each other's company. And as they passed from the darkness of the night into the soft glow of the lamps and they both saw each other's face lit up, eyes shining with pure emotion they drew closer. And as the night stretched on, neither moved. Whispering only to themselves and the pristine night air they were cloaked in.

"My sweet rose."

"My beloved peony."

__

~*~ Fin ~*~


End file.
